London (AFP) – Stock markets mostly rose Tuesday as traders assessed company earnings and the outlook for the tech sector, ahead of key US economic data releases this week. Tokyo jumped more than two percent to a fresh record, building on gains made on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s stunning election triumph. Advances across world markets have brought some calm to trading floors after last week’s asset-wide rollercoaster ride, with tech firms battered by AI spending fears finding their feet.
In Europe, Paris rose and Frankfurt flattened in midday deals. Shares in Gucci owner Kering jumped 12 percent to top the Paris CAC 40, after its earnings beat estimates despite net profit plunging. London fell, dragged down by a five-percent drop to oil giant BP’s stock after it suspended share buybacks and posted a sharp drop in annual net profit. Shares in British drugmaker AstraZeneca advanced one percent after it posted a jump in net profit thanks to strong cancer drug sales.
Investors were gearing up for the release of key US data, hoping for a fresh insight into the world’s biggest economy and an idea about the Federal Reserve’s plans for interest rates. Non-farm payrolls are due to be released Wednesday, having been delayed from Friday owing to a brief US government shutdown. Closely-watched inflation and retail sales figures are also lined up for release this week. The readings come amid signs of weakness in the US labour market, with President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett warning of more soft readings to come.
Traders meanwhile tracked Monday’s strong session on Wall Street, where tech firms Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia led the charge. “The past week has undoubtedly highlighted the fact that there will be both winners and losers from AI,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets. Investors remain concerned about the vast sums of cash pumped into the artificial intelligence sector, with questions being asked about when profits will be realised, if at all.
Stocks in Tokyo continued their blistering run at the start of the week that came on the back of Takaichi’s landslide lower-house election win that paves the way for increased fiscal stimulus and massive tax cuts. Tech firms, which have been a key driver of the Nikkei’s surge over the past year to multiple record highs, led the way again, with investment giant SoftBank piling on more than 10 percent.
– Key figures at around 1100 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 10,360.71 points
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 8,348.93
Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 25,020.66
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.3 percent at 57,650.54 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 27,183.15 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,128.37 (close)
New York – Dow: FLAT at 50,135.87 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1913 from $1.1918 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3667 from $1.3695
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.14 yen from 155.90 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.16 pence from 86.99 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $69.06 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $64.29 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
