European stock markets closed higher on Thursday as the market “assimilates” the announcements of the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday night that it will begin the curtailment of the asset purchase program that has lasted since the beginning of the pandemic in November, but also the Bank of England, which has kept interest rates unchanged for the time being.
On the board, the pan-European Stoxx 600 “added” 0.41%, to 483.20 points, with the technology sector gaining 1.4%, leading the profits, while the banking sector fell 2%, following the BoE decisions. The other pan-European index, Eurostoxx 50, closed with an increase of 0.55%, at 4,333.34 points.
The German DAX recorded an increase of 0.44%, to 16,029.65 points, with the French CAC 40 to gain 0.53%, to 6,987.79 points, while the British FTSE 100 recorded an increase of 0.43%, to 7,279.91.
In the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB “won” 0.53%, to 27,522.05 points, while the Spanish IBEX 35 moved up 0.10% to 9,039.40 points.
The Bank of England ruling shattered the expectations of some investors that the UK central bank would be the first of a large economy to raise interest rates, almost two years after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The British pound – sterling lost more than 1% against the dollar after the announcements.
The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said last night that its decision to cut its quantitative easing program by $ 15 billion a month from November ($ 120 billion a year) month) comes “in the light of the significant progress that the US economy has made towards the goals we had set last December”.
In the field of corporate results, the data of their activity for the previous quarter were announced by Credit Suisse, BMW, Commerzbank, Deutsche Post, Tate & Lyle, BT, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Enel and SocGen.
Credit Suisse exceeded expectations for the third quarter, but was hit by the alleged corruption case in Mozambique and other legal issues. The Swiss bank also revealed that it expects net losses instead of profits in the fourth quarter of 2021, while it intends to reduce its investment banking activities.
The French bank Societe Generale achieved better than expected results, on the basis of high income in the corporate and investment banking arms, with its share closing with a profit of 1%.
Alstria Office REIT recorded the biggest increase under the Stoxx 600, gaining more than 17%, as the German company real estate announced that it has accepted a takeover offer for 3.5 billion euros from Brookfield Asset Management.
BT shares jumped 11% after the announcement of strong results.
On the other side of the pan-European index, the German chemical company Lanxess lost more than 7%, after warning that the increased costs will hit its core profits for 2021, leading them to the bottom of the range of guidance it had announced.
Virgin Money UK saw its share fall 9%, under pressure for the speed of its entry into the digital banking industry.
At the end of the day, the growth of the Eurozone continued to slow at the beginning of the fourth quarter, with the business activity declining in services and manufacturing, according to the data of the IHS Markit research.
In particular, the composite PMI fell to a six-month low of 54.2 points in October from 56.2 points in September. The index fell for the third consecutive month and moved further away from the 15-year high last July, according to IHS Markit.
The services business index also fell to a six-month low of 54.6 in October from 56.4 in September. The PMI manufacturing index fell to an eight-month low of 58.3 points in October from 58.6 points a month earlier, Markit said on November 2.
Meanwhile, the price rally continued in September, with producer prices recording a new jump, exceeding analysts’ estimates.
In particular, Eurostat estimated that prices at factory gates increased by 2.7% on a monthly basis in September and 16% on an annual basis. These are the largest increases ever recorded in the Eurozone.
Analysts spoke of a monthly increase of 2.2% and an annual increase of 15.2%.
.
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
