European stocks rallied for a third week, closing at their highest level in almost five years, as companies from BT Group PLC to Hochtief AG posted earnings that beat estimates, while economic data exceeded expectations.
BT surged 13 percent as the fixed-line phone operator proposed a higher full-year dividend, while Hochtief gained 7.5 percent after it posted a first-quarter profit and sold its airport division. Alcatel-Lucent SA rose 14 percent as its chief executive officer said that he may sell assets abd National Bank of Greece SA led stocks in Greece, surging 48 percent.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 1.3 percent this week to 304.99, its highest level since June 2008. The equity benchmark has gained 9.1 percent so far this year amid confidence that central banks around the world will continue to add stimulus to support economic growth.
“The stock rally is mainly driven by continued accommodative policies around the world, lately the rate cut by the European Central Bank and the aggressive money printing in Japan,” RobecoSAM AG portfolio manager Kai Fachinger wrote in a message.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee left its bond-purchase program at ￡375 billion (US$575 billion) when it met on Thursday. The policymakers also held their benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent. In Asia, Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo and his board lowered their benchmark seven-day repurchase rate on Thursday to 2.5 percent from 2.75 percent.
Reports from two of Europe’s three biggest economies beat estimates. In Germany, a measure of industrial production increased 1.2 percent in March. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a 0.1 percent drop.
A separate release showed that Germany’s exports, adjusted for working days and seasonal changes, advanced 0.5 percent in March. They declined 1.2 percent in February.
UK industrial production also rose more than economists had forecast as cold weather increased demand for electricity and gas. Output climbed 0.7 percent from February, a report from the British Office for National Statistics showed on Thursday.
National benchmark indices advanced in every western European market this week, except for Spain. The UK’s FTSE 100 added 1.6 percent, France’s CAC 40 rose 1 percent and Germany’s DAX jumped 1.9 percent.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
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
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
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