European stocks advance ahead of ECB; DAX up 0.9%
Investing.com
Published Sep 08, 2011 05:32AM ET
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.3%, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.1%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.9%.
The ECB was not expected to increase its benchmark interest rate, but speculation that President Jean-Claude Trichet could signal a change in policy to support the weakening euro zone economy, including increasing the supply of cash to euro zone lenders, boosted shares in the financial sector.
French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rallied 5.7% and 4.5% respectively, while Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank shares rose 4.1% and 2.75%.
Peripheral lenders were also higher, with Unicredit shares jumping 3.1% and Banco Santander gaining 3%.
Shares in Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia advanced 3.6% after reporting strong sales of its new dual-SIM phone in India.
In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.8% as shares in lenders continued to regain ground, following recent losses. Lloyds Banking Group rallied 4.4%, Royal Bank of Scotland shares surged 4.7%, while Barclays rose 3.1%.
Shares in the world’s largest commodities trader Glencore International jumped 6.3% after private equity firm First Reserve said it would sell nearly GBP500 million in Glencore convertible bonds and use the proceeds to buy ordinary shares of the company.
Meanwhile, shares in Home Retail Group jumped 7.6% after it said sales at its Argos unit rose 4.8% to GBP859 million in the second quarter.
The Bank of England was expected to keep rates on hold at 0.50% when it announced its rate decision later Thursday.
Elsewhere, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was modestly higher ahead of speeches from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President Barack Obama.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a mild gain of 0.1%, S&P 500 futures eased up 0.08%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% increase.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish weekly government data on initial jobless claims as well as an official report on its trade balance.
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Written By: Investing.com
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