European stocks rose for a second day, extending a three-month high, amid investor optimism about global growth, while gains in healthcare companies helped offset declines in banks.
AstraZeneca PLC led drugmakers higher with a 1.6 percent advance.
ABN Amro Group NV climbed 3.4 percent on its first day of trading in Amsterdam after an initial public offering.
Glencore PLC fell 1.8 percent as miners erased earlier gains. Barclays PLC led lenders lower, falling 3.5 percent after Morgan Stanley cut its rating to equal weight, citing risks to consensus earnings estimates.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent to 381.78 at the close of trading. Shares have rebounded 13 percent since a September low amid optimism that the European Central Bank (ECB) will add to stimulus measures.
ECB President Mario Draghi today reinforced this view, saying the ECB will do what is necessary to raise inflation toward its target. Stocks posted a 3.3 percent weekly advance, after US Federal Reserve minutes indicated the US economy can withstand higher borrowing costs, while officials reiterated that increases will be gradual.?
“Higher interest rates are now being viewed positively,” London-based Robert W. Baird & Co equities vice chairman Patrick Spencer said.
“The interest rate hike is coming because the economy is performing better than expected, and if that’s the case, that bodes well for equities in general,” he said.
Among other shares moving on corporate news, Imperial Tobacco Group PLC rose 1.8 percent on speculation that British American Tobacco PLC is arranging financing to make a bid.
K+S AG fell 1.2 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG downgraded the German potash producer to underperform, similar to sell, from neutral, after cutting its price estimates for the commodity.
A gauge of energy companies posted the biggest decline of the 19 industry groups on the STOXX 600 amid falling oil prices, with Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BG Group losing at least 1.7 percent.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
Industrial production expanded 22.31 percent annually last month to 107.51, as increases in demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove demand for locally-made chips and components. The manufacturing production index climbed 23.68 percent year-on-year to 108.37, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. In the first four months of this year, industrial and manufacturing production indices expanded 14.31 percent and 15.22 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed. The growth momentum is to extend into this month, with the manufacturing production index expected to rise between 11 percent and 15.1 percent annually, Department of Statistics
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
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