London (AFP) – Stock markets mostly extended gains Thursday as optimism grew that the European Union could soon strike a trade deal with the United States, following the Japan-US agreement. Investors have benefitted in recent weeks from bets that governments will eventually hammer out pacts with Donald Trump ahead of the US president’s August 1 deadline to avoid steeper levies.
“The positive sentiment generated by the trade deal agreed between the US and Japan continued to permeate the markets,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. This was boosted further by “optimism surrounding trade talks between the US and EU,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Rostro trading group.
London’s FTSE 100 gained almost one percent, lifted also by a stream of robust earnings, including from consumer goods group Reckitt, mobile phone giant Vodafone, and Lloyds bank. Frankfurt rose, along with most other European stocks, as the European Union and Washington appeared close to a deal that would set a baseline 15-percent levy on EU goods, down from a threatened 30 percent. A European Commission spokesman said Thursday he believed a trade deal with the United States is “within reach.” According to multiple diplomats, the deal could waive tariffs on aircraft, lumber, pharmaceutical products, and agricultural goods.
The bloc, however, is still forging ahead with contingency plans in case talks fail, with member states approving a 93-billion-euro ($109-billion) package of counter-tariffs on US goods. After opening higher, Paris slipped in midday trading, dragged down by a drop in luxury stocks and disappointing earnings from fossil fuel giant TotalEnergies and chipmaker STMicroelectronics, which plunged 10 percent. Later on Thursday, the European Central Bank is expected to leave interest rates unchanged as higher US tariffs hang in the balance.
In Asia, stocks advanced following another record day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wall Street Wednesday. Tokyo added more than one percent, building on a more than three percent surge Wednesday on the back of the Japan-US trade deal. Hong Kong and Shanghai also advanced. Traders kept an eye on Tokyo after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba denied discussing his resignation with party elders on Wednesday, as speculation about his future intensified following a weekend election debacle.
Banking stocks gained in Europe after a flurry of earnings reports were received well by the market. Deutsche Bank posted its highest second-quarter profit since 2007, which sent its shares surging more than seven percent in Frankfurt. French banking giant BNP Paribas announced a record annual profit for 2025, and UK bank Lloyds reported a rise in first-half net profit.
– Key figures at around 1100 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 9,114.38 points
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,830.42
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,336.31
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 41,826.34 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 25,667.18 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,605.73 (close)
New York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 45,010.29 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 146.55 yen from 146.47 yen on Wednesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1752 from $1.1777
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3538 from $1.3579
Euro/pound: UP at 86.81 pence from 86.68 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $65.86 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $69.03 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
