US STOCKS fluctuated as speculation that the government will aid Hartford Financial Services Group spurred a rally in insurers and higher oil prices lifted energy companies, offsetting a drop in consumer share prices.
Hartford jumped 21%, while ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum gained at least 2%.
Coca-Cola slid 2,6% after a suitor called off its $4,9bn takeover offer for an Australian Coke bottler.
Benchmark equity indices drifted between gains and losses as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner delayed the announcement of a bank-rescue plan. “People continue to digest poor economic news and take it in stride,” Dan Greenhaus of Miller Tabak & Company said. “The market is giving the benefit of the doubt to the government.” Bloomberg
Editorial and indices as at 7.30pm.
EUROPEAN share prices rose for the fourth session in five yesterday, with Barclays leading banks up and energy companies reversing earlier losses as crude oil prices gained more than 3%.
Banks rose, supported by better than expected results at Barclays. Deutsche Bank was up 6,2%, Unicredit up 5,1% and Commerzbank up 8,5%. “Fundamentally the market is positioning itself for a rally,” Darren Winder of Cazenove said. “We’re halfway through the recession, and we’re on very low multiples. Equities are very attractive and will be materially higher in 12 months’ time than they are now.”
Energy shares pared losses from earlier in the session as crude prices rose more than 3%. Statoil was up 2,4%. ENI rose 0,7%. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC-40 rose between 0,4 and 0,5%. Reuters
WORLD stock markets were mixed yesterday, with Tokyo’s index down more than 1%, as a recent rally over the $827bn plan to resuscitate the US economy began to fade.
Most markets in Asia gave up some of their gains by the afternoon. Analysts said much of the rise has been fuelled by investors looking to capitalise on the markets’ momentum, not a fundamental shift in sentiment. “I don’t think this rally will last," Desmond Tjiang of Fortis Investment Management said. “There’s still bad macro news and bad corporate news that will outweigh the stimulus hopes in the near term," he said. “After the stimulus package, what other good news can there be? I’m just very cautious." Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1,3% , while South Korea’s Kospi was off 0,6%. Singapore and New Zealand stock markets also lost ground. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 0,8% in a volatile session. Sapa-AFP
