London (AFP) – Stock markets rose Tuesday as investors digested strong bank earnings and shares in several auto giants surged over hopes of tariff relief from US President Donald Trump. Some stability has returned to markets after last week’s roller-coaster ride over Trump’s stop-start tariff announcements, but uncertainty remains over speculation of new levies on high-end technology and pharmaceuticals.
“While financial markets have steadied, with many looking as if they are consolidating at current levels, this feels as if it is the calm before the storm,” said David Morrison, senior analyst at financial services firm Trade Nation. “Markets remain skittish, and investors feel safer sitting on their hands for now, hoping that last week’s worrying dislocations revert back to normal,” he said.
Wall Street’s main indexes were in the green in late morning deals as investors also kept an eye on corporate earnings. Shares in Bank of America and Citigroup climbed after the financial giants posted solid earnings reports. Boeing slumped as Trump said China “reneged” on a major deal with the US aviation giant, after Bloomberg reported that Beijing ordered airlines not to take further deliveries from the company amid an escalating trade war. Shares in European rival Airbus rose.
European indices closed higher, with London and Frankfurt gaining 1.4 percent each. Paris made more modest gains, weighed down by shares in Louis Vuitton owner LVMH falling almost eight percent over weak sales. The group was overtaken by rival Hermes as France’s most valuable company by market capitalisation.
Shares in European and Asian automakers rallied following Trump’s comments on Monday that he was “very flexible” and “looking at something to help some of the car companies” hit by his 25 percent tariff on all imports. “This serves to double down on the weekend narrative that Trump will reverse some of his tariffs once company execs approach him to highlight the huge negative implications of his action,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
US-European automaker Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot, gained over six percent in Paris, while German brands Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz advanced more than two percent. “We are encouraged by what President Trump indicated yesterday about tariffs for the car industry,” Stellantis president John Elkann said at the group’s annual shareholders meeting. In Asia, Toyota jumped 3.7 percent and Hyundai more than four percent. But in the United States, General Motors and Ford slumped.
Markets made a positive start to the week, rising Monday after the announcement of tariff exemptions for consumer electronic products, though Trump’s suggestion that the reprieve would be temporary tempered the optimism. “Sentiment got a further boost thanks to positive noises about trade negotiations, which added to the sense that the administration is focused on making deals that could see the tariffs come down,” said Jim Reid, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
– Key figures around 1755 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 40,611.27 points
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 5,424.58
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.3 percent at 16,886.27
London – FTSE 100: UP 1.4 percent at 8,249.12 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,335.40 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.4 percent at 21,253.70 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.8 percent at 34,267.54 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 21,466.27 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,267.66 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 143.13 yen from 143.09 yen on Monday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1283 from $1.1356
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3219 from $1.3189
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.37 pence from 86.08 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $60.99 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.9 percent at $64.31 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
