(MENAFN– ecpulse)
European shares advance Thursday in the wake of two consecutive losses after Federal Reserve Chairman Nominee Janet Yellen’s dovish remarks on the central bank’s stimulus program.
- Stoxx 600 gained 0.91 percent or 2.91 points to 322.73
The gauge rallied for the past five weeks as the Federal Reserve maintained bond purchases and the European Central Bank lowered its key interest rate.
- Stoxx 50 gained 1.09% to 3053.97 . As of 03:33 a.m. EST.
Federal Reserve chair nominee Janet Yellen released remarks suggesting the central bank should continue supporting the U.S. economy with stimulus.
Yellen, in remarks released ahead of her closely-watched Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday to succeed Fed chief Ben Bernanke, said the Fed has "more work to do" to help the economy, indicating she was in no hurry to start tapering stimulus.
Yellen said that unemployment at 7.3% in October was still too high “reflecting a labor market and economy far short of their potential”.
In its latest policy statement, the U.S. central bank said Wednesday it will continue buying $85 billion in bonds every month and keep its benchmark short-term interest rate near zero. The bond purchases are designed to keep borrowing costs low to encourage hiring and investment.
The Fed said it would ‘‘await more evidence’’ that the economy was improving before starting to pull back its stimulus program.
A strong recovery will ultimately enable the Fed to reduce its monetary accommodation and reliance on unconventional policy tools such as asset purchases,” Yellen, the Fed’s current vice chairman, said in testimony prepared for her nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.
Investors look forward to data that is expected to show the Euroarea expanded at a slower rate in the third quarter. France’s economy contracted in the third quarter, while Germany’s economy slowed down as well.
Corporate News
Among the biggest gainers on Thursday morning, French conglomerate Bouygues surged 7.4 percent after it posted higher third-quarter profits and reaffirmed its full-year forecasts.
K+S gained 3.4 percent to 21.25 Euros after reporting third-quarter operating earnings of 115.8 million Euros ($156 million). The median forecast of analysts in a survey was for 106.5 million Euros.
Europe’s biggest producer of potash also said it plans to make 500 million euros in savings over the next three years to raise its competitiveness and counter weak potassium and potash markets.
Nordex SE jumped 6.2 percent to 12.38 Euros after increasing its full-year order intake outlook to between 1.4 billion Euros and 1.5 billion Euros. The wind-turbine maker lifted its outlook from between 1.3 billion Euros and 1.4 billion Euros.
RWE slipped 5.7 percent to 25.60 Euros. The German utility company said that recurrent net income, the measure used to calculate the dividend, will drop to 1.3 billion Euros to 1.5 billion Euros from around 2.4 billion Euros forecast for this year.
-The British FTSE 100 gained 0.99% or 65.40 points to 6695.87
-The French CAC 40 gained 1.16% or 48.99 to 4288.93
-Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 0.93% or 9138.78 points to 9138.33
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