(MENAFN- AFP) Eurozone stock markets rose Monday, buoyed by resilient German business confidence despite Britain's Brexit vote, as traders also eye Japanese and US central bank talks for hints of future action.
Frankfurt's benchmark DAX 30 index grew 0.8 percent in value after a key survey showed that Britain's vote to leave the European Union has had a limited impact on business confidence in Germany.
The Ifo institute's closely-watched index fell to 108.3 points in July from June's figure of 108.7.
It was the first time pollsters had taken the pulse of Europe's biggest economy since the shock outcome of Britain's June 23 referendum.
The Paris CAC 40 nudged 0.3 percent higher in afternoon trade.
London's FTSE 100 was little changed, 0.04 percent in the red, as heavyweight miners Randgold and Fresnillo sank on the back of sliding gold prices.
"It was a struggle for investors to find any direction this Monday, leaving the UK and US markets in particularly looking pretty stagnant," noted Connor Campbell, analyst at traders Spreadex.
"Things were far livelier over in the eurozone. The thrust of that upwards movement has come from the German Ifo business climate figure."
- Looming bank stress tests -
In Italy, shares in the country's third biggest bank, BMPS, slumped ahead of Friday's release of EU-wide stress tests as the bank weighs how to curb 9.6 billion euros of bad loans by 2018.
Citing unnamed sources, Il Sole 24 Ore business daily said BMPS was the only one of Italy's five banks to undergo the European Banking Authority testing to have failed to receive good results.
Its shares lost more than seven percent, on a slightly lower Milan stock exchange.
- Fed likely to hold fire -
US shares opened slightly lower as news broke of the long-flagged deal for Verizon Communications to buy the web assets of troubled tech giant Yahoo for $4.8 billion.
After another record close on Wall Street Friday, traders are cautiously looking to the US Federal Reserve's gathering Wednesday, followed by the Bank of Japan Friday.
The banks' meetings are the first since the Brexit decision, which led to promises around the world to provide support to financial markets.
But Oanda's Craig Erlam said the Fed was likely to stand pat.
"The US economy has continued to perform well and the labour market bounced back strongly in June which may lead the Fed to reaffirm its intention to raise interest rates this year, while highlighting the number of downside risks to their forecasts," he said in an investors' note.
The BoJ is widely expected to ramp up its stimulus to kickstart the struggling economy.
- Pokemon Go hits Nintendo -
In Tokyo, Nintendo stock plunged almost 18 percent on the broader Topix index after it warned that its popular Pokemon Go smartphone game sweeping the world would not translate into bumper profits.
By the end of last week the firm's share price had doubled in July -- making it more valuable than Sony at one point -- as the app proved a global hit.
But the Kyoto-based company warned in a statement late Friday that the impact of the game's success on its bottom line would be "limited" as it was developed by a US firm.
"It's no great surprise to see Nintendo's stock plunge after the company admitted the Pokemon Go craze would not translate into mega profits," said ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson.
"The stock is still up around 50 percent from its pre-Pokemon Go price, which is probably a better reflection of what is still a game changer for Nintendo as it starts to tap the mobile gaming market.''
- Key figures at 1340 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.04 percent at 6,728.02 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.8 percent at 10,231.04
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 4,392.79
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 2,982.65
New York - DOW: DOWN 0.3 percent at 18,514.60
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 16,620.29 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.1 percent at 21,993.44 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,015.83 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0981 from $1.0976
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3119 from $1.3112
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 106.06 yen from 106.19 yen
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.