Global Stocks Tad Higher on Expected ECB Stimulus
December 01 2015 - 4:40AM
Dow Jones News
Global stocks rose Tuesday as investors expect more stimulus
from the European Central Bank later in the week.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.3% in early trade. For November,
the pan-European index gained 2.7% as investors bet the ECB would
further loosen monetary policy at its meeting on Dec. 3.
"ECB action on Thursday is probably the world's worst kept
secret," said Neil Williams, group chief economist at Hermes
Investment Management, pointing to a possible expansion of the
bank's bond-buying program and noting that further cuts to the
already negative deposit rate look "inevitable".
Shares also saw a boost from downbeat Chinese manufacturing
data, which raised concerns about the strength of the Chinese
economy while lifting hopes for easier monetary policy. The
Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.3%.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.3% to close above the
20,000 mark for the first time since August. Hong Kong's Hang Seng
Index gained 1.8%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.9%
after its c entral bank kept rates on hold.
U.S. stocks fell on Monday as retail shares lost ground, leaving
major indexes little changed for November. For the month, the Dow
Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 gained
just 0.05%. The Nasdaq rose 1.1%, buoyed by gains in the technology
sector.
In currencies, the euro was up 0.2% against the dollar at
$1.0587 while the dollar was down 0.3% against the yen at ¥
122.9760.
The onshore Chinese yuan was mostly steady after the
International Monetary Fund gave the yuan reserve-currency status
on Monday.
In commodities, Brent crude was up 0.8% at $44.97 a barrel.
Gold gained 0.6% at $1,071.
Gains in European shares were led by the banking sector after
The Bank of England said it would ease pressure on U.K. banks to
hold more capital.
Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC were up 2.6%, shares of
Standard Chartered PLC were up 2.3%, and shares of Royal Bank of
Scotland Group PLC gained 2.2%.
Looking ahead Tuesday, manufacturing data continues to pour in
with releases due from the U.S., U.K., and eurozone.
While the ECB is expected to further ease policy this week, the
U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates for
the first time in nearly a decade.
"The fact they'll be taking different routes—the ECB loosening,
the Fed tightening—is a given; what markets need now is guidance on
how fast they'll be traveling and how far they'll end up going,"
Mr. Williams said.
Further clarity on that may come from Fed Chairwoman Janet
Yellen, who is slated to speak on Wednesday and Thursday, and the
blockbuster U.S. jobs report on Friday.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 01, 2015 04:25 ET (09:25 GMT)
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