European stocks posted the sixth consecutive weekly advance, the longest stretch of gains since January 2006, as speculation grew that the worst of the financial crisis has passed.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index rose 4.7 percent to 196.96, the highest level since Feb. 9. The measure has rebounded 25 percent from a 12-year low on March 9 as lenders signaled they made money at the beginning of this year and the US government unveiled plans to purchase as much as US$1 trillion in toxic assets from financial firms.
“The recent positive earnings from major banks like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citigroup has improved investor optimism that the worst of the banking crisis may be over,” said Joshua Raymond, a London-based market strategist at City Index. “Investors are now looking toward the banks to restore confidence and the results witnessed thus far have gone some way to doing this.”
The VSTOXX Index, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 Index, slid to 36.70 this week, the lowest level since Sept. 25. The index reached a record 87.51 on Oct. 16 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
National benchmark indexes increased in all 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX climbed 4.1 percent as Deutsche Bank AG rallied, while the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 2.7 percent. France’s CAC 40 added 4 percent.
Financial companies are expected to drive an earnings recovery in the US and Europe. While analysts predict overall profits in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will drop 15 percent this year before rebounding 24 percent next year, earnings in the STOXX 600 are estimated to grow 20 percent this year and 15 percent next year, according to Bloomberg data.
UBS added 22 percent, even as Switzerland’s largest bank said it plans to cut another 7,500 jobs amid mounting losses and customer defections. BNP, France’s biggest, climbed 14 percent and Germany’s Deutsche Bank rose 13 percent. A measure of bank shares on the STOXX 600 rallied 10 percent, the best performance among 19 industry groups.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from