European stock markets pushed higher on Friday as investors cheered better-than-expected US jobs figures, but gains were capped as oil prices rose and the euro hit a new high against the dollar.
The London FTSE 100 index won 0.24 percent to 4,739.8 points, its highest closing level since June 17, 2002.
In Frankfurt the DAX 30 climbed 0.55 percent to 4,063.58, slightly below a six-month high set in midday trade, while in Paris the CAC 40 advanced 0.49 percent to 3,780.99.
The DJ Euro STOXX 50 index of leading eurozone shares rose 0.53 percent to 2,874.80 points.
The euro stood at US$1.2941 after setting a new record at US$1.2952 in late trades.
As European markets closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 top stocks had gained 0.74 percent. On oil markets, New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, rose by US$0.48 to US$49.30 in early deals.
In London the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for December delivery won US$0.39 to US$46.40 a barrel in late trading.
"Arafat's ill health is adding tension and underpinning prices ahead of the weekend," Informa Global Markets analyst Peter Luxton said.
Earlier, stocks had gotten a boost from a US Labor Department report which showed a surprising 337,000 jobs created last month and prompted investors to set aside doubts about the world's largest economy.
"These were blow-out numbers, beating even the most optimistic projections," said Bob O'Brien, managing director and head equity trader at Evergreen Investments.
"It indicates the economy is picking up steam. On top of the job growth, we should have revenue and earnings growth leading to higher stock prices," he said.
In London shares in Standard Chartered rose 1.95 percent to ?10.215 as bid speculation surrounded the emerging markets bank, dealers said.
An article in the Financial Times claimed a dispute between the company and its largest shareholder had renewed questions about the future of the London-based bank.
In Frankfurt Allianz rose 2.54 percent to 89.31 euros after Swiss bank UBS upgraded its stance on the stock to "buy" from "neutral," expecting a positive contribution from all of Allianz's four divisions next year.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index rose 0.84 percent to 336.36, the Swiss SMI was up 1.16 percent to 5,614.5, in Milan the MIB 30 gained 0.40 percent to 29,330, in Madrid the IBEX-35 was 0.43 percent higher at 8,570.60 and in Brussels the BEL-20 closed up 0.40 percent at 2,838.99.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS