Stock markets in Europe and the United States rose mainly on Thursday as the European Central Bank cut interest rates and concerns that the tech sector was struggling eased after earnings from major chipmaker TSMC.
Wall Street indexes were mixed on a day of renewed interest in Nvidia and other chipmakers and designers.
Traders were also digesting new data released Thursday that showed retail sales rose last month and further interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank (ECB).
Sam Burns, chief strategist at Mill Street Research, told AFP that positive economic news in the U.S. and interest rate cuts in Europe had helped push stocks back to near all-time highs.
“The financial results so far have been pretty good, and they don't seem too concerned about things like the election, at least for now,” he said.
– Eurozone rises –
All major eurozone exchanges closed higher, with London joining them, after the ECB cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point and expressed confidence that inflation was under control.
“Overall, the ECB's decision is good news for investors,” said Jochen Stanzl, chief analyst at CMC Markets. “Investors now feel they are in a largely positive environment with the ECB supporting rather than hindering the bullish mood.”
The ECB's decision was widely expected. But analysts said the announcement, which showed inflation was coming under control and economic activity in the euro zone was slowing, signaled the possibility of further rate cuts.
“We think the data supports at least a 25 basis point cut in each of the next few meetings,” said Jack Allen Reynolds, deputy eurozone economist at Capital Economics.
Earlier on Thursday, euro zone inflation was revised downward from 1.8% to 1.7% in September, well below the ECB's 2% target. The economic downturn is also putting pressure on the ECB to cut borrowing costs.
The euro fell against the dollar, and gold hit a new all-time high.
Stock markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell earlier in the day as real estate stocks fell after traders were disappointed with new measures by China's housing minister to ease the real estate crisis.
China, the world's second-largest economy, has struggled to recover since lifting strict coronavirus restrictions at the end of 2022, hit by a debt crisis in its real estate sector and weak consumer demand.
Crude oil prices have gradually risen after falling in recent days.
~Major figures around 2045 GMT~
New York – Dow: up 0.4% to 43,239.05 points (close price)
New York – S&P 500: down less than 0.1%, 5,841.47 (close)
New York-Nasdaq Composite: up less than 0.1% to 18,373.61 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: up 1.2% to 7,583.73 (close price)
Frankfurt – DAX: up 0.8% to 19,583.39 (close price)
London – FTSE 100: up 0.7 to 8,385.13 points (close price)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: 0.7% lower at 38,911.19 (closing price)
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index: 1.0% lower at 20,079.10 (closing price)
Shanghai – Overall: down 1.1% to 3,169.38 (close price)
EUR/USD: down to $1.0830 from $1.0859 on Wednesday
GBP/USD: up from $1.2986 to $1.3013
USD/JPY: Increased from 149.63 yen to 150.23 yen
EUR/GBP: down from 83.62p to 83.22p
West Texas Intermediate: up 0.4% to $70.67 per barrel
Brent crude: up 0.3% to $74.45 per barrel
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