European stocks rise after Christmas break; Dax up 0.70%
Investing.com
Published Dec 27, 2013 03:39AM ET
Frankfurt stock exchange
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.59%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.70%.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 338,000 last week. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 35,000 to 345,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 380,000, which was the highest since March.
The upbeat data added to the view that the U.S. economy will be strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to continue withdrawing stimulus through 2014.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.52% and 0.60%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank gained 0.58%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander rose 0.30% and 0.43%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit added 0.22% and 0.37%.
Elsewhere, Electrawinds surged 3.57% after German renewable-energy developer and its Electrawinds NV unit received court protection for three months to negotiate a reorganization with creditors.
In London, FTSE 100 advanced 0.49%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher.
Shares in Lloyds Banking gained 0.74% and Barclays jumped 1.34%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland rallied 1.44%. HSBC Holdings underperformed on the other hand, down 0.26%.
Debenhams was also on the upside, with shares climbing 1.42% after the Times reported that the department-store chain may fire its chief financial officer. According to the newspaper, some institutional investors have criticized CFO Simon Herrick’s performance.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed. Glencore Xstrata slipped 0.16% and Rio Tinto declined 0.38%, while BHP Billiton climbed 0.65% and Vedanta Resources gained 0.80%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.07% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.02% dip.
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