European stocks capped the first weekly decline in more than a month as investors speculated share prices have outpaced the outlook for economic growth and corporate earnings.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe’s biggest oil producer, fell with copper and crude prices. DSG International PLC, Europe’s second-largest electronics goods retailer, slid 15 percent after UK retail sales unexpectedly retreated. K+S AG sank 21 percent as the potash producer forecast a drop in sales and earnings.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index lost 2.8 percent to 208.28 in the week, the biggest drop since the week ended on May 15. A three-month, 36 percent surge through the end of last week had left the measure trading at 25.4 times profit, the highest level since 2004, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg.
“It’s not surprising that we saw some profit taking after the tremendous rally,” said Gerold Kuehne, who manages about US$115 million at LLB Asset Management AG in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. “The economy determines the direction of the markets and we saw that if data is better than expected, like US leading indicators, it still has the potential to give the market a boost.”
European stocks pared the weekly loss after reports showed the US leading economic indicators index climbed for a second straight month last month and the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits dropped for the first time since January.
Even so, US industrial production fell last month for the 16th time in the last 17 months, reflecting declines in consumer goods and business equipment that signals the manufacturing slump remains broad-based.
EU leaders spotted the first signs of a “sustainable economic recovery” and started planning to roll back budget deficits piled up to combat the financial crisis. The 27 government heads said the looming end of the slump means it is time to start hatching an “exit strategy.” They also agreed to overhaul financial regulation after banking supervision failed to contain the crisis.
National benchmark indexes fell in all 18 western European markets. The UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 2.2 percent as Lonmin PLC tumbled. France’s CAC 40 lost 3.2 percent as Michelin & Cie fell, while Germany’s DAX slid 4.5 percent.
A measure of basic-resources shares in the STOXX 600 retreated 9.5 percent, the second-biggest decline 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