European stocks snapped two weeks of losses this week, as concern over a potential default by the US government faded and the nomination of US Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen to head the US central bank signaled the continuation of its stimulus.
Celesio AG surged 19 percent as McKesson Corp was said to be in talks to buy a majority stake in the drug wholesaler, while Persimmon PLC and Taylor Wimpey PLC led house builders higher as British property prices surged to an 11-year high and Goldman Sachs Groups Inc predicted further growth. Meanwhile, TGS Nopec Geophysical Co slumped 16 percent after reducing its sales forecast because of delays in getting permits for new surveys.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index added 0.6 percent to 311.61 this week after slipping 1.4 percent in the previous two weeks. The gauge has rallied 11 percent so far this year as the eurozone emerged from a recession and central banks maintained stimulus measures to support the global economy.
National benchmark indices advanced in 13 of the 18 western European markets this week. Germany’s DAX increased 1 percent to a record-high, while the UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 rose 1.2 percent.
The STOXX 600 lost 1.5 percent in the first three days of the week as a partial shutdown of the US government continued, but reversed losses as signs of a temporary resolution to the fiscal impasse emerged later in the week when Republicans in the US House of Representative proposed a short-term increase to the debt ceiling that would buy the government time until Nov. 22 to conclude a longer agreement.
Obama had earlier warned that the world’s biggest economy would slide into a recession if lawmakers failed to raise the ceiling.
Without congressional action, the US will exhaust its borrowing authority by Thursday next week, according to the US Department of the Treasury.
“Many investors believe that a solution to the US debt problem will be found, even if just a temporary one,” said Yves Maillot, who manages 18.5 billion euros (US$25 billion) as head of European equities at Natixis Asset Management in Paris.
Investors also turned their attention to corporate earnings as the shutdown delayed the release of some US economic data. Alcoa Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co all posted results that exceeded analysts’ estimates this week.
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
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
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