London (AFP) – Stock markets mostly climbed on Wednesday as investors digested a wave of company earnings that have broadly surpassed expectations, while assessing the chances of a US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Asian equities benefited from a recent revival in technology stocks after a month-long rout, tracking gains on Wall Street on Tuesday that sent both the Dow and the S&P 500 to new records.
European markets were more subdued by midday as oil prices edged higher after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they had attacked a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea. That came after several markets, including Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan, and Paris, reached fresh highs earlier in the session. London’s FTSE 100 index was weighed by a six-percent drop in HSBC shares as analysts said investors were disappointed by the size of the bank’s share buyback announced on Tuesday.
Strong earnings and positive forecasts from market heavyweights including Amazon, Microsoft, and data-mining giant Palantir injected fresh interest in tech, helping overcome worries about massive spending on artificial intelligence and when that will see a return. Seoul, which has been at the forefront of extreme volatility in the tech sector over the past month, saw gains of more than three percent, while Tokyo also gained. There were further gains in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Markets have also been supported by hopes that the US-Iran truce will be reset after weeks of tit-for-tat strikes. Crude prices had tumbled more than five percent on Tuesday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal could be reached imminently with Tehran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic. President Donald Trump later warned Iran would be “hit very hard” unless the waterway was reopened “very soon.” His comments to Fox News came as Axios reported that the United States, Iran, and Oman were nearing an interim deal to reopen the strait, which Washington was hoping to announce Wednesday.
However, oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, “supported by fresh attacks and threats from the Houthi rebels on Saudi oil exports from the Red Sea,” said analysts at DNB Carnegie. Investors are also keeping tabs on the release this week of crucial US jobs data that should provide a fresh idea about the state of the economy, guiding the Federal Reserve as it considers its next move on interest rates.
In company news, Swiss resources giant Glencore rose three percent in London after it reported a return to profit in the first half of the year.
– Key figures around 1100 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 10,847.31 points
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 8,669.50
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 26,224.82
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: 3.7 percent at 66,300.44 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 25,915.82 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 3,878.43 (close)
Seoul – Kospi: UP 3.8 percent at 6,598.26 (close)
New York – DOW: UP 1.7 percent at 54,085.88 (close)
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.3 percent at $80.39 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $76.12 per barrel
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.50 yen from 157.72 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1550 from $1.1533
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3479 from $1.3453
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.69 pence from 85.73 pence
© 2024 AFP
