European stocks were little changed this past week, following three weeks of gains, as concern US lawmakers will not agree on a budget before the holiday offset optimism that the euro area will get a single banking regulator.
PSA Peugeot Citroen SA soared 16 percent, the biggest rally on the STOXX Europe 600 Index this past week, as the carmaker said it will cut another 1,500 jobs. Alcatel Lucent SA jumped 6.4 percent after winning a financing deal. Deutsche Bank AG declined 5.5 percent after Germany’s biggest lender said fourth-quarter profit will fall short of analysts’ estimates.
The benchmark STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.1 percent to 279.4 this past week. The equity benchmark has rallied 19 percent from this year’s low on June 4 as the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve introduced bond-buying programs.
A gauge of auto companies posted the biggest gain of the 19 industry groups in the STOXX 600 this week. Renault added 6.2 percent, as Daimler AG rose 4.8 percent and Mercedes-Benz 11-month car sales climbed 5.1 percent.
European stocks will struggle to extend their rally this year as the region’s benchmark measure trades close to a key resistance level. The STOXX 600 remains stuck near the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement level of the slump between July 2007 and March 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
EU finance ministers agreed to put the ECB in charge of all large eurozone lenders. About 200 banks will qualify for oversight by the central bank rather than national regulators, EU Financial Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said.
In Europe, the finance ministers of the 17 nations using the single currency approved a 49.1 billion euro (US$64.5 billion) payment of aid to Greece after the country completed a buyback of its own debt. In Germany, a survey of economic expectations among investors and analysts rebounded this month. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research’s index rose to 6.9 from minus-15.7 last month, beating economists’ estimates.
In the US, US President Barack Obama reduced his demand for new tax revenue in the federal budget for next year. Even so, US congressional Republicans failed to accept the proposed changes, prompting concern that politicians will not reach agreement on the new budget before the end of the year.
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
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