European stocks rose for a third week as optimism grew that the worst of the global recession is over after reports showed the US economy lost fewer jobs than expected and Chinese manufacturing expanded for a third month last month.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, gained 7.2 percent after raising US$21 billion from a share sale and an iron ore venture with BHP Billiton Ltd.
Renault SA and PSA Peugeot Citroen led a rally among automakers after French car sales advanced 12 percent last month as a government-backed bonus program enticed consumers.
Europe’s Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index rose 1.2 percent to 210.76 this past week, having risen for all but one of the last six weeks. The measure has gained 33 percent from a 12-year low on March 9 amid optimism that government action will help end the first global recession since World War II.
“The market is resuming its gains in a healthy manner, driven by improvements in the economy,” said Bruno Ducros, a fund manager at Cardif Asset Management in Paris, which oversees about US$2.6 billion in stocks. “Rio Tinto found a way to finance itself and that’s good.”
National benchmark indexes rose in 15 of the 18 western European markets. The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent, while Germany’s DAX gained 2.8 percent and France’s CAC 40 increased 1.9 percent.
UBS AG strategists reversed their preference for US stocks over European equities for the first time since 2007, saying US stocks look relatively expensive as the earnings gap between the two regions narrows. The brokerage raised its recommendation on European stocks to “overweight” and reduced US shares to “underweight.”
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England maintained their benchmark interest rates at record lows this past week.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank had no immediate plans to boost its 60 billion euro (US$84 billion) asset-purchase program or cut interest rates further as the economy shows signs of recovery.
NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer said he was “a lot more confident” the three-month rally in equities would be sustainable as trading volume increased.
“At the end of March I was apprehensive because I thought the market had gone up so much so quickly that it didn’t feel like a fundamentally driven rally to me,” Niederauer said in an interview in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
“I was nervous that the fundamentals hadn’t really changed and we hadn’t seen enough volume,” he said.
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