- Ex-president Bolsonaro discharged from hospital
- Juventus sack Allegri for Italian Cup rampage
- Scheffler climbs within three of PGA lead after early arrest
- Saracens and Scotland wing Maitland to retire from rugby
- Military spending pushes Russian economic growth up
- Djokovic takes Geneva wild card to halt slump
- 'Historic': Saudi stages first swimwear fashion show
- For Taiwan shoppers, China's malls only a ferry ride away
- Anger in Peru over decree describing transsexuality as 'mental disorder'
- Five things to know about future Anfield boss Arne Slot
- Leclerc shines on bright day in the sun for Ferrari at Imola
- Zverev equals Becker record to reach Rome Open final
- 'Get out now': Kharkiv region evacuees wait for stranded relatives
- Boeing shareholders back outgoing CEO pay deal despite safety woes
- Supreme Court justice faces recusal calls over inverted US flag
- Ex-WADA chief Pound says 'disgusted' by USADA 'lies' over China cases
- Slot confirms he will replace Klopp as Liverpool manager
- King Charles III to attend D-Day anniversary in France: palace
- Vatican sharpens rules on investigating supernatural
- Mercedes in Alabama to learn if they will join US union
- Wounded Slovakia PM Fico undergoes new surgery
- Olympic champion Jacobs eyeing sub-10 second time in Rome return
- Kenya's Kwemoi banned for six years for doping
- Villa boss Emery dreams of conquering Europe
- Trump attends son's graduation in pause from criminal trial
- Pochettino hopes Chelsea winning run can be springboard for next season
- Sweden's Soderberg aces 8th hole at PGA Championship
- Marseille's Gasset calls time on four-decade coaching career
- Crisis-hit Boeing girds for potentially turbulent annual meeting
- Russia presses offensive into Ukraine but hold off key city
- WADA founder Pound says 'disgusted' by USADA 'lies' over China cases
- EU warns Microsoft to give Bing AI risk data or face fines
- Spurs boss Postecoglou says Man City game was 'worst experience'
- Controversial floating beach unveiled off French Riviera
- Hayes urges Women's Super League to support female coaches
- Arteta says Arsenal can 'live a beautiful day'
- French police kill Algerian trying to set fire to synagogue
- Police arrest golf world No.1 Scheffler outside PGA course
- Leclerc on top for Ferrari in opening practice
- Russian northeast offensive pushes on as Putin blames Kyiv
- UK's Labour eyes closer relations with EU
- Police detain golf world No.1 Scheffler outside PGA course
- US tariffs on Chinese EVs hurt green transition: XPeng boss
- Brit drama 'Bird' brings grit, fantasy and tunes to Cannes
- Man City will not cruise to Premier League glory, warns Guardiola
- 'Gold Rush' for Stockholm with Taylor Swift Eras tour
- England captain Buttler buoyed by return of 'superstar' Archer
- Police detain golf world No.1 Scheffler outside PGA course: US media, video
- Coppola shrugs off 'Megalopolis' cost as Stone and Gere hit Cannes
- Slovak PM has new surgery, condition 'still very serious'
CMSC | -0.41% | 24.41 | $ | |
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SCS | 0.95% | 13.71 | $ | |
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GSK | 0.35% | 45.036 | $ | |
BCE | 0.26% | 34.43 | $ | |
AZN | -0.19% | 76.895 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.09% | 5.285 | $ | |
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BTI | 0.14% | 31.595 | $ |
Eurozone stocks sag on strong euro as region exits recession
Eurozone equities sagged Tuesday, weighed down by the strong euro as investors digested bright economic news, while London hit another record peak on earnings-driven optimism.
Frankfurt and Paris stocks retreated but the euro jumped against the dollar, as figures showed the eurozone economy emerged from recession in the first quarter with inflation under control.
London meanwhile zoomed to yet another record peak at 8,195.96 points, with HSBC soaring almost five percent on a bumper stock buyback despite sliding first-quarter profits and the exit of its chief executive.
Eurozone gross domestic product grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3 percent in the first three months of 2024 compared to the prior quarter, having slid into a shallow recession in the second half of last year, official data showed. Annual inflation held at 2.4 percent in April from the previous month.
The figures are unlikely to stop the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates in June, according to economists.
The US Federal Reserve is predicted to stand pat on rates after meeting on Wednesday, but its statement and boss Jerome Powell's comments will be pored over for clues about the outlook.
- Euro weighs -
"While the ECB is still expected to cut rates in June, what happens after that remains unclear," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.
"Stronger growth and sticky inflation could mean the ECB keeps rates high for longer, which is lifting the euro.
"However, higher borrowing costs for longer are unfavourable for companies, restricting growth, which is why eurozone bourses are heading lower."
In contrast, Asian markets mostly rose Tuesday following advances on Wall Street, while the yen held gains after the previous day's sharp swings and focus turned to the Fed's upcoming policy decision.
A forecast-beating series of earnings from top-tier firms in recent weeks, particularly tech titans including Google owner Alphabet and Microsoft, has been a key driver of the latest advances, offsetting fading hopes for a US interest rate cut this year.
Traders have been lowering their expectations since the start of 2024 for how many reductions the bank will make as inflation continues to hold above target and various indicators show a resilient economy and labour market.
Tokyo stocks piled on more than one percent as it played catch-up with Asia's gains on Monday, which was a Japanese holiday.
The yen weakened slightly but held much of the previous day's surge that observers speculate came on the back of an intervention by authorities after it hit a fresh 34-year low of 160.17 yen per dollar.
Traders are on guard for further yen volatility after the Bank of Japan decided against shifting further from its ultra-loose monetary policy last week and gave little idea about when it would.
- Key figures around 1015 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,183.48 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,050.32
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 18,047.12
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.5 percent at 4,958.12
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 38,405.66 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 17,763.03 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,104.82 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 15,983.08 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0734 from $1.0721 on Monday
Dollar/yen: UP at 156.93 yen from 156.35 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2553 from $1.2563
Euro/pound: UP at 85.50 pence from 85.33 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $88.53 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $82.81 per barrel
burs-rfj/lth
O.Krause--BTB