European stocks climbed for a third time in four weeks as oil dropped to a three-month low and earnings from Societe Generale SA and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC eased concern that banks need more capital.
Marks & Spencer Group PLC, Daimler AG and Air France-KLM rose after crude oil fell more than US$7 a barrel. Societe Generale, France’s second-largest bank, rallied the most in six months on a smaller-than-estimated profit decline. Royal Bank of Scotland, the second-biggest UK bank, rose 12 percent. European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co gained the most in seven years as the euro fell to the lowest versus the dollar since February.
Europe’s Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index added 3.2 percent this week to 289.28, the highest level since June 30. The measure has climbed 8.5 percent from an almost three-year low on July 15 as crude tumbled more than 20 percent from a record and profits from Credit Suisse Group AG to Air France-KLM and Adidas AG beat analysts’ estimates.
“Much of the market had been sold off aggressively ahead of first-half results and we were due a bounce,” said Jane Coffey, head of equities at Royal London Asset Management, which oversees about US$63 billion. “A weakening oil price will allow central banks to be less concerned about inflation. This makes equities look more attractive.”
This week’s rally pared the STOXX 600’s decline this year to 21 percent. The benchmark index for European equities has dropped in eight of the previous nine months as asset writedowns and credit losses at banks approached US$500 billion worldwide, threatening to prolong the slowdown in global economic growth.
National benchmark indexes advanced in 15 of the 18 western European markets in the week. France’s CAC 40 gained 4.1 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 added 2.5 percent, while Germany’s DAX climbed 2.6 percent.
Marks & Spencer, the UK’s largest clothing retailer, rallied 9 percent.
Daimler, the world’s second-biggest maker of luxury cars, increased 14 percent.
“The decline in oil was a critical factor,” said Gregor Logan, the co-chief investment officer at New Star Asset Management in London, which oversees about US$41 billion.
Air France, Europe’s biggest airline, increased 13 percent. The carrier got an added boost this week after reporting first-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ projections.
Societe Generale jumped 15 percent. The bank said net income fell 63 percent to 644 million euros (US$1 billion), compared with the 550 million-euro median estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
The company’s capital position is “completely solid,” chief executive officer Frederic Oudea said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS