European shares jumped for a second straight session on Friday, as a wave of fiscal and monetary stimulus tempted investors back into equity markets after days of selling on signs the world was headed into a deep, coronavirus-driven recession.
The European Commission said that it was looking at loosening debt rules for member states and issuing common eurozone bonds in an attempt to shore up businesses and households crushed by the meltdown in economic activity.
The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1.8 percent on Friday, but was down 2 percent for the week and still looking at its worst month in three decades as the deepening spread of COVID-19 in Europe forces countries to shut down.
Financials on Friday rose 3.9 percent from a near 30-year low, with Allianz SE, Prudential PLC, ING Groep and Zurich Insurance Group surging 8.5 percent to 12 percent.
Even travel and leisure stocks attempted a rebound in what has been their worst month so far since October 1987, as the promise of more stimulus raised hopes of a smoother recovery from the health crisis.
The optimism was reflected across global equity markets, as the US Senate debated a US$1 trillion-plus package that would include direct financial help for Americans.
Meanwhile, sources told reporters that China was set to unleash trillions of yuan of fiscal stimulus.
“It’s seemingly having a positive effect given the market needed a trillion-dollar worth of help this week to just make it to the weekend,” AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd markets strategist Stephen Innes said.
“[But it is] the calm before the storm, I’m afraid, as the nasty impact on corporate solvency will become more evident in the weeks ahead, when the demand shock filters through to the real economy,” Innes said.
Several blue-chip European firms have flagged a severe hit to business as the pandemic empties hotels and crushes consumer spending, with the airline industry facing a complete collapse in the face of halt in global travel.
British retailer Marks & Spencer Group PLC was the latest to warn about an impact in its clothing, homewares and international businesses, sending its shares down 5.2 percent.
Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group PLC said demand for hotels was at the lowest levels it had ever seen and announced a series of measures to cut costs.
Taiwanese firms have increased investment in the Philippines in recent years as Manila’s ties with Washington deepen and global supply chains continue to shift away from China, an expert at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The Philippines had not been among Taiwanese investors’ top choices in Southeast Asia, CIER Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center director Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈) said at a seminar in Taipei. However, Taiwan’s investment in the country has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching US $257 million last year, a high in recent years, she said. Although Taiwan’s total investment in the Philippines still lags
HSBC Holdings PLC is deepening its commitment to Taiwan as the economy emerges as one of the bank’s fastest-growing markets globally, driven by an artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom, expanding cross-border trade, and rising wealth creation. “The advantage that Taiwan has is a growth story linked to the semiconductor and broader AI industries, strong underlying corporate performance, and wealth creation,” said Surendra Rosha, HSBC’s co-chief executive for Asia and the Middle East, in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times on June 2, during this year’s HSBC Taiwan Conference. That combination has helped HSBC cement its position as the most profitable international
Intel Corp regards Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) as a longstanding partner, as the US chipmaker would continue outsourcing production of advanced chips to TSMC, Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) said yesterday. “I don’t look at people as competitors. I look at the collaboration... Nvidia is also, you know, a good friend,” Tan told a news conference following his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei. “It’s a very trusted partnership for us... We are a big, top customer for them, and we’re going to continue doing that,” he said, referring to TSMC, the world’s largest foundry
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said it would work with US chipmaker Intel Corp to jointly develop and deploy next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and intelligent computing platforms in a move to capture booming demand for AI computing systems. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康), said in a statement that the partnership would combine its global manufacturing scale, system integration expertise and AI data center deployment capabilities with Intel’s strengths in processor architecture, silicon technologies and software ecosystem. The companies said they plan to work on equipment used in AI data centers, including server racks powered by
RSS