New York (AFP) – Major stock markets mostly rose Thursday on hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine and as US President Trump announced a trade policy shake-up but held off on specific new levies. London was a rare faller owing to sharp losses in share prices of big companies, including Unilever, Barclays, and British American Tobacco, due to mixed earnings. That overshadowed news that the UK economy surprisingly grew in late 2024.
US President Donald Trump’s talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to start negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine “has fostered a risk-on attitude among investors,” said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets. The positive showing “is a result of the potential reduction in geopolitical risks,” he added. Paris and Frankfurt won solid gains. Major US indices joined them, with the S&P 500 winning one percent.
Trump unveiled a “fair and reciprocal plan” for trade, ordering a review of tariffs on US goods and directing officials to propose remedies, a step towards potentially wide-ranging tariffs on allies and competitors. However, Wall Street was encouraged that the plan did not include immediate levies. Investors are “taking comfort” in the “idea that it’s negotiable and not coming into effect immediately,” said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management.
US investors also shrugged off data showing a bigger-than-expected uptick in US wholesale prices in January, adding to concerns about worsening pricing pressure after Wednesday’s consumer price data also exceeded estimates. Some analysts also noted that the details of Thursday’s US inflation report were less troubling than the headline figures. But the dollar weakened after traders concluded the reciprocal tariffs will “either be tolerable for partners, negotiated away, or never implemented,” said Adam Button, a currency analyst at ForexLive.
Among individual stocks, Nestle surged more than six percent in Zurich after the Swiss food giant posted better-than-expected annual sales. However, Deere & Company fell 2.2 percent as it navigates a tough agriculture market with the depressed state of farm income and higher interest rates that make equipment purchases difficult. The company’s revenues fell more than 30 percent last year, while it projected a broad-based decline again in 2025.
– Key figures around 2150 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 44,711.43 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 1.0 percent at 6,115.07 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 19,945.64 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,764.72 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.5 percent at 8,164.11 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 2.1 percent at 22,612.02 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 39,461.47 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 21,814.37 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,332.48 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0467 from $1.0383 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2586 from $1.2446
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.76 yen from 154.42 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.42 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $71.29 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $75.02 per barrel.
© 2024 AFP
