European stocks posted their first back-to-back weekly gains since May as better-than-estimated earnings and lower oil prices fueled a rally in carmakers and banks climbed on speculation that credit-market losses will abate.
Volkswagen AG, Fiat SPA and PSA Peugeot Citroen advanced after the automakers reported profit that exceeded projections and crude fell for a third consecutive week. Credit Suisse Group AG, the second-biggest Swiss bank, rallied the most since March 2003 on earnings that were almost double what analysts expected.
Europe’s Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index increased 0.4 percent this week to 281.76, extending its rebound from a three-year low on July 15 to 5.7 percent. The measure has tumbled 23 percent this year after US$467 billion of credit losses and asset writedowns at banks prolonged the global economy’s slump and inflation eroded profits.
The STOXX 600’s rally from its low this month was led by bank and consumer shares as earnings from Credit Suisse to Citigroup Inc topped estimates and oil tumbled more than 15 percent from its all-time high on July 11. Second-quarter profits at financial firms in the STOXX 600 that reported results so far exceeded analysts’ projections by 15 percent, while consumer-goods makers beat expectations by 7.8 percent, Bloomberg data show.
National benchmark indexes gained in six of the 18 western European markets. The Swiss Market Index added 2.8 percent, and France’s CAC 40 increased 1.8 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.4 percent, while Germany’s DAX climbed 0.9 percent.
The STOXX 50 rose 0.7 percent and the Euro STOXX 50, a measure for the euro region, advanced 0.9 percent.
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
LOOKING FOR WHEELS: The military is seeking 8x8 single-chassis vehicles to test the new missile and potentially replace the nation’s existing launch vehicles, the source said Taiwan is developing a hypersonic missile based on the Ching Tien (擎天) supersonic cruise missile, and a Czech-made truck has been tentatively selected as its launch vehicle, a source said yesterday. The Ching Tien, formerly known as Yun Feng (雲峰, “Cloud Peak”), is a domestically developed missile with a range of 1,200km to 2,000km being deployed in casemate-type positions as of last month, an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The hypersonic missile to be derived from the Ching Tien would feature improved range and a mobile launch platform, while the latter would most likely be a 12x12 single chassis
UP AND DOWN: The route would include a 16.4km underground section from Zuoying to Fongshan and a 9.5km elevated part from Fongshan to Pingtung Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday confirmed a project to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) to Pingtung County through Kaohsiung. Cho made the announcement at a ceremony commemorating the completion of a dome at Kaohsiung Main Station. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications approved the HSR expansion in 2019 using a route that branches off a line from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營). The project was ultimately delayed due to a lack of support for the route. The Zuoying route would have trains stop at the Zuoying Station and return to a junction before traveling southward to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝).
Parts of the nation, including in the south, could experience temperatures as low as 7°C early tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. A strong continental cold air mass coupled with the effect of radiative cooling would bring cold weather to several northern cities and counties, and could even affect areas as far south as Tainan early tomorrow, the CWA said. Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties would experience temperatures below 10°C until this evening, according to cold surge advisories issued by the weather agency. The weather across the nation is forecast to remain
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