European Markets Rally for Fifth Consecutive Day

Bridgette Randall
03 Nov, 2023
Frankfurt

European market indexes advanced for the fifth day in a row in the hopes that the central banks are done raising rates for now.

Benchmark indexes in Paris, London, and Frankfurt traded higher and extended weekly gains after the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England held key lending rates, following similar action by the European Central Bank days ago.

Stocks in interest rate-sensitive sectors—real estate, banks, financial services, and automobiles—led gainers in Friday's trading.

Bond yields also edged lower in the eurozone and the UK after the central banks held rates steady.

 

Eurozone Jobless Rate Inched Higher

The eurozone jobless rates edged higher to 6.5% in September, higher than 6.4% in the previous month, Eurostat reported Friday.

The jobless rate declined to 6.5% from 6.7% a year ago.

The number of unemployed people rose by 69,000 from the previous month to 11.017 million.

Germany recorded the lowest jobless rate of 3%, while Spain led the larger economies in the currency union with a rate of 12%, followed by Italy with 7.4% and France with 7.3%.

Moreover, the unemployment rate among jobseekers of less than 25 years edged up to 14% from 13.9% in August.

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased 0.2% to 15,176.14, the CAC-40 index fell 0.08% to 7,058.16, and the FTSE 100 index edged down 0.04% to 7,442.27.

The yield on 10-year German bonds increased to 2.71%, French bonds traded lower to 3.31%, the UK gilts edged up to 4.39%, and Italian bonds inched higher to 4.55%.

The euro rebounded to $1.064, the British pound at $1.222, and the U.S. dollar at 90.46 Swiss cents.

Brent crude increased $0.02 to $86.27 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas edged higher by €0.44 to €49.0 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

A P Moeller-Maersk AS Class B dropped 15% to DKK 10,300.0 after the shipping company said full-year operating profit is expected to fall to the lower end of its earlier estimate, and the company plans to eliminate at least 10,000 jobs.

Smith & Nephew plc increased 3.3% to 993.64 pence after the company refuted claims that the weight loss drugs were likely to hurt the company's sales.

Currys Plc gained 3.9% to 47.80 pence after the UK-based electrical retailer agreed to sell its Greece and Cyprus-based retail operation Kotsovolos to Public Power Corporation for €200 million.

Societe Generale SA increased 1.1% to €21.84 despite the French lender reporting a decline in third quarter net income.

BMW AG jumped 3.1% to €93.91 after the company said production volume increased 4.2% to 638,524 vehicles in the third quarter.

Group revenue increased 3.4% to €38.5 billion from €37.2 billion, net income declined 7.7% to €2.9 billion from €3.2 billion, and earnings per share fell to €4.20 from €4.25 a year ago.

All electric vehicle sales in the quarter surged 79.6% to 93,931 units, accounting for 15.1% of total deliveries.

Vonovia SE increased 6.2% to €24.17 after the German real estate company confirmed its full-year outlook.

Deutsche Wohnen SE advanced 2.4% to €21.98 after the real estate company reported preliminary funds from operations of €456.3 million, or €1.15 per share, in the 9-month period ending in September.