European shares advanced on Friday on hopes that possible action on interest rates and mortgage insurance could help limit the damage to the global economy from problems in the US housing sector.
The UK FTSE-100 rose 1.5 percent to 6,303.30, the German DAX-30 gained 1.6 percent to 7,638.17 and the French CAC-40 gained 1.3 percent to 5,662.70.
They were led by companies with ties to the commodities sector, like steelmaker ArcelorMittal, mining giant Rio Tinto and oil producer Royal Dutch Shell. ArcelorMittal rose 2.8 percent, Rio Tinto gained 3.7 percent and Royal Dutch Shell added 1.4 percent.
US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would be paying "particularly close attention to the timeliest indicators" to assess how the recent credit crisis and financial market turmoil is affecting the real economy.
Drew Matus, an economist at Lehman Brothers, said that the speech didn't commit to any rate action, but Bernanke showed the Fed wasn't "out of touch." Also, the Bush administration announced a plan to help stem mortgage defaults.
Shares in French luxury-goods firm PPR advanced 4.1 percent after saying that its first-half net income nearly tripled following strong performance from luxury brands Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent and YSL Beaute.
Millennium BCP shares added 3.9 percent on a Portuguese television report that its chief executive, Paulo Teixerira Pinto, has quit. He has been in a power struggle with the bank's chairman after the firm failed to take control of Banco BPI earlier this year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) halted shipments to a customer this month after its semiconductors were sent to China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), potentially breaching US sanctions, a government official said. The US slapped sanctions on Huawei in 2019, and expanded them the following year, over fears its technology could be used for Beijing’s espionage operations. The restrictions prevent TSMC from selling semiconductors to Huawei. However, TSMC discovered on Oct. 11 that chips made for a “specific customer” had ended up with the Chinese company, a Taiwanese official with knowledge of the incident said on the condition of anonymity. TSMC “immediately activated
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Shares of Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) surged more than 53 percent on its debut on the Taiwan stock exchange yesterday. Starlux shares closed up 53.75 percent at NT$30.75 from its initial public offering price of NT$20 after retreating in late trading from a 60 percent rise. China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) rose 0.90 percent to close at NT$22.35, while EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) gained 0.40 percent to close at NT$37.70. In Taiwan, a newly listed stock is allowed to go beyond the 10 percent maximum increase or decline in its first five trading sessions. At the listing ceremony, Starlux chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said
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