European stocks rose, rebounding after the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index posted its biggest annual slump on record, as higher metals prices lifted mining companies and investors speculated governments will step up efforts to revive the global economy.
Rio Tinto Group surged 14 percent, leading a rally in raw-material producers, the region’s worst performing industry group last year. BHP Billiton Ltd and Anglo American PLC added more than 8 percent as copper gained for a fourth day in London.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index jumped 6.3 percent this week, extending its rise to 12 percent since Nov. 21. Stocks climbed as US president-elect Barack Obama pledged to stimulate growth with the biggest infrastructure investment since the 1950s and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to as low as 0 percent to combat the worst financial crisis in seven decades.
“We’re turning the page,” said Jacques Porta, a fund manager at Ofi Patrimoine in Paris, which oversees US$615 million. “We’ve left the page of panic and deep recession. Expectations of Obama and his plan are enormous.”
The STOXX 600 added 3.1 percent to 204.46 in London, the biggest advance on the first trading day of the year since 2003.
The gauge dropped 46 percent last year as credit-related losses and writedowns at financial firms that topped US$1 trillion pushed the US, Europe and Japan into the first simultaneous recessions since World War II.
Germany’s DAX Index added 3.4 percent as Siemens AG advanced. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index gained 2.9 percent.
All 19 industry groups in Europe’s STOXX 600 slid at least 18 percent last year. Gauges of miners and banks both retreated 65 percent as the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials dropped a record 36 percent and credit losses at European financial firms neared US$300 billion.
Rio Tinto, the world’s third-largest mining company, added 14 percent on Friday. Rio slumped 72 percent last year.
BHP Billiton, the biggest mining company, climbed 8.6 percent. Anglo American, the fourth-largest diversified mining company, added 11 percent.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe’s largest oil company, gained 4.9 percent. BP PLC, the second-biggest, added 5.1 percent.
The benchmark index for European options declined on Friday. The VSTOXX Index slid 4.1 percent to 42.08. The gauge measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the Euro STOXX 50 Index.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source