European Stocks Recover

Elena
29 Mar, 2006
Frankfurt

European averages advanced, recovering from two-day declines. Stocks were supported by strength in Asian markets and largely ignored the weakness on Wall Street, following the Fed Reserve''s decision to increase interest rates. The German DAX 30 added 0.2%, the French CAC 40 rose 0.5%, and London FTSE 100 climbed 0.6%.

[R] 8:00 AM European averages traded higher at mid-day.[/R]
European markets traded higher at mid-day, recovering from two-day losses. Markets advanced, boosted by solid gains in Asian-Pacific stocks, ignoring Wall Street weakness after the Fed Reserve raised the short-term interest rate and gave signals that further hikes are expected. European retailers like Ahold and J. Sainsbury were in the spotlight today. The German DAX 30 gained 0.2%, the French CAC 40 rose 0.5%, and London FTSE 100 climbed 0.6%.


[R]7:45AM Asian markets finished mixed. Singapore and Japan hit new highs.[/R]
Asian-Pacific benchmarks ended mixed with Singapore and Japan hitting new multiyear highs. The Nikkei reached a nearly six-year high of 1.5% to 16,938.41, lifted by improved confidence in economic recovery and fresh fund flows. Technology and exporter-related issues advanced on stronger dollar vs. the yen Gainers included Yahoo Japan, up 7.6%, Tokyo Electron 3.4%, Advantest Corp, up 3.9%. Banking stocks also gained strength. Among other regional markets, Singapore Straits Times hit a six-year high of 0.3%, China’s share prices rose 0.5%, Taiwan’s Weighted index climbed 0.7% on expectations of strong results among chip makers, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7% on property stocks, following U.S. interest rate increase.