Europe: Stocks have strongest day in 6 months as ECB signals end to rate hikes
EUROPEAN shares notched up their biggest percentage gain in six months on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) signalled that its monetary tightening was nearing an end, while stronger commodity prices boosted miners and energy stocks.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 1.5 per cent to hit a more than one-week high, while the euro zone equities index climbed 1.3 per cent.
European government bond yields retreated after the ECB raised its key interest rate to a record high of 4 per cent, but with the euro zone economy in the doldrums, signalled this was likely to be its final move.
The rate-sensitive real estate sector advanced 3.0 per cent, while miners jumped 4.2 per cent to lead sectoral gains due to stronger metal prices.
Mike Bell, global liquidity market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management said that with business surveys indicating an imminent sharp slowdown in growth, the ECB is probably done hiking.
“Against the weaker growth backdrop, the ECB can probably pause at the next meeting and if the growth outlook continues to deteriorate a pause could morph into a peak.”
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Denmark’s central bank also raised its key interest rate by 25 bps, following the ECB’s move earlier in the day.
UK’s resources-heavy FTSE 100 outpaced regional peers with a 2.0 per cent rise, while Oslo stocks jumped 1.8 per cent to scale record highs.
The energy index rose 2.4 per cent as crude prices hit 2023 highs.
Bucking the trend, the autos index declined 0.4 per cent, with German automakers such as Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen under pressure.
Beijing said the launch of a probe by the European Commission into China’s electric vehicle (EV) subsidies was protectionist and warned it would damage economic relations, a concern shared by Germany’s car industry.
Neste climbed 4.1 per cent as Goldman Sachs raised the Finnish oil refiner and biofuels producer’s stock rating to “buy”.
THG tumbled 21.3 per cent after the British e-commerce firm forecast its annual revenue from continuing operations to come in flat or drop up to 5 per cent.
French spirits companies Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau dipped 0.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, after Barclays downgraded the stocks to “underweight” from “overweight”. REUTERS
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