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.
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