European stocks advance at open
European stock markets climbed at the open on Wednesday, echoing gains across Asia after an upbeat Wall Street performance. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of major blue-chip companies won 0.5 percent to 7,600.95 points. Frankfurt’s DAX index rose 0.8 percent to 15,362.61 and the Paris CAC 40 added almost 1.0 percent to 7,095.51, compared with Tuesday’s closing levels. Asian equities also bounced higher as traders prepared for Thursday’s highly anticipated US inflation data, while sentiment was soothed by signs of easing Russia-Ukraine tensions.
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Sensex ends 187 pts higher
Indian indices witnessed a highly volatile session on Tuesday that saw both the Sensex and the Nifty gain over 0.3 percent, snapping a three-day losing streak. The indices opened marginally higher before gyrating between gains and losses. Tata Steel, Bajaj twins, Reliance were some of the top performers, while SBI, PowerGrid, and Kotak Bank were some of the top losers. On the sectoral front, telecom, auto, and metals gained, while, IT, banks, realty ended in the red. In Asia, shares advanced in Japan, Australia and South Korea, while Shanghai saw a decline. Market witnessed another session of volatility on Tuesday as both the Sensex and the Nifty50 ended 0.3 percent higher, snapping a three-day losing run. In the last three days, the investors have lost over 6 lakh crore amid mixed global cues. The Sensex opened the session 150 points higher at 57,799.67 before moving between gains and losses. The index reached a high of 57,925.82, before settling at 57,808.58, 187.39 points up, tracking mixed global cues. The Nifty50 gained marginally to open at 17,279.85, reaching a high of 17,306.45, before closing at 17,266.70. Foreign fund outflows kept the indices under pressure.
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Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.42pc
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Transportation Equipment, Marine Transport and Precision Instruments sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.42 percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2390 to 1164 and 235 ended unchanged. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 6.17 percent to 21.91. Crude oil for March delivery was up 0.02 percent or 0.02 to $89.68 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April fell 0.09 percent or 0.08 to hit $91.47 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract unchanged 0.00 percent or 0.00 to trade at $1836.60 a troy ounce. USD/JPY was up 0.11 percent to 115.61, while EUR/JPY rose 0.11 percent to 132.06. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.06 percent at 95.550.
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France stocks higher at close of trade; CAC 40 up 1.46pc
France stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares higher. At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 added 1.46 percent, while the SBF 120 index climbed 1.53 percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 357 to 199 and 84 ended unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was unchanged 0 percent to 18.96 a new 52-week high. Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.40 percent or 7.25 to $1835.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 0.09 percent or 0.08 to hit $89.28 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.44 percent or 0.40 to trade at $91.18 a barrel. EUR/USD was up 0.20 percent to 1.1437, while EUR/GBP rose 0.24 percent to 0.8447. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.19 percent at 95.455.
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Worldwide rally drives UK’s FTSE 100 to fresh two-year highs
UK’s blue-chip index touched fresh two-year highs on Wednesday, joining a rally in global stock markets as investors cheered strong earnings while setting aside concerns about rising interest rates. The FTSE 100 index closed up 1.0 percent to hit its highest level since January 2020 in a broad-based rally. Value-oriented sectors including miners, energy and banking that were battered during the pandemic have been picked up by investors recently, allowing the FTSE 100 index to outperform the wider European STOXX 600 index so far this year. The midcap index jumped 1.8 percent, marking its best single-day performance in more than six months, boosted by travel stocks such as TUI, Wizz Air and easyJet that rose between 3.7 percent and 9.7 percent. Barratt Developments Plc added 1.0 percent as it expects to build 250 more homes than its previous annual forecast, which would also cross pre-pandemic levels, easing concerns about demand in Britain’s housing market. Vodafone rose 1.7 percent after a spokesperson from French telecoms group Iliad said on Tuesday it made an offer to buy 100 percent of Vodafone Italia. The Financial Times reported Iliad has offered more than 11 billion euros for the unit.
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S&P 500, Nasdaq climb over 1pc on tech, earnings boost
Wall Street’s main indexes rallied on Wednesday, with high-growth stocks gaining as a recent rally in Treasury yields paused, while investors took comfort from upbeat earnings reports and signs of easing tensions in Ukraine. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield slipped from multi-year highs hit in the previous session, helping steady sentiment across global markets. All of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors advanced in early afternoon trading, with six of them rising more than 1 percent each. Growth and technology names have been among the worst hit this year on rate hike fears as their value rests heavily on future earnings, which are discounted more deeply when rates go up. At 12:20 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 252.85 points, or 0.71 percent, at 35,715.63, the S&P 500 was up 50.27 points, or 1.11 percent, at 4,571.81, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 199.38 points, or 1.40 percent, at 14,393.83. Investors are awaiting consumer prices data on Thursday for clues on the Federal Reserve’s plans to hike interest rates after an unexpectedly strong jobs report last week raised concerns of a more aggressive move by the central bank.