By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
EDF shares climb; euro slips below $1.25 but rises for the
week
European stocks finished Friday's session in rally mode, posting
their biggest weekly win in more than a year alongside on ongoing
recovery in equities on Wall Street.
How markets moved
The Stoxx Europe 600 index leapt 1.1% to close at 380.62, its
third straight gain. All sectors rose, led by telecom and health
care shares. On Thursday, the index rose 0.5%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-charge-higher-as-airbus-commodity-shares-advance-2018-02-15).
Spain's IBEX 35 charged up 1.2% to 9,832.10, and Germany's DAX
30 index tacked on 0.9% to end at 12,451.96.
France's CAC 40 put on 1.1% to close at 5,281.58, and the U.K.'s
FTSE 100 advanced 0.8% for a finish at 7,294.70
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-rises-on-track-to-break-weekly-losing-streak-2018-02-16).
The euro bought $1.2434, down from $1.2507 late Thursday in New
York. But for the week, the euro was up roughly 1.5% against the
greenback .
In the fixed-income market, the yield on the 10-year German bund
fell 5 basis points to 0.705%, according to Tradeweb. Yields fall
when prices rise.
Read:This market selloff was overdue, but now it looks overdone,
strategists say
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-market-selloff-was-overdue-but-now-it-looks-overdone-strategists-say-2018-02-10)
Also check out: More investors looking to cut U.K. assets as
Brexit uncertainty persists
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-investors-looking-to-cut-uk-assets-as-brexit-uncertainty-persists-2018-02-16)
What drove markets
The Stoxx 600 posted a weekly gain of 3.3%, the best week since
December 2016 and the first advance after three weeks of losses,
according to FactSet data.
The European market keyed off moves on Wall Street. U.S. stocks
were rising for a sixth straight session
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-ready-to-hold-above-25000-as-us-stocks-line-up-best-week-more-than-a-year-2018-02-16),
as investors headed into a three-day weekend thanks to the
Presidents Day holiday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/which-markets-are-closed-on-presidents-day-2018-02-14)
on Monday.
The recent global selloff in equities is seen as prompted partly
by a rise in U.S. bond yields amid signs of an uptick in inflation.
But after the release this week of stronger-than-expected U.S.
inflation data
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cpi-surges-05-in-january-but-yearly-rate-of-inflation-unchanged-2018-02-14),
investors snapped up battered stocks.
What strategists said
"Europe has jumped higher out of the blocks on the last trading
day of the week," said Fiona Cincotta, market analyst at City
Index, in a note. "This indicates that the market has quickly
adjusted to the prospect of higher future inflation and a more
hawkish Fed. Let's not forget, the backdrop hasn't changed,
earnings remain strong and company outlook's encouraging," she
said.
"What has been interesting is that U.S. markets have once again
performed better than European markets since the lows of last week;
despite a well-known love for European equities among fund
managers, the U.S. continues to steal the crown, thanks in no small
part to the stronger euro," wrote Chris Beauchamp, chief market
analyst at IG.
Stock movers
Royal Vopak NV (VPK.AE) rallied 13.7%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/royal-vopak-posts-net-loss-adjusted-earnings-rise-2018-02-16)
after the Dutch company, which stores chemicals, oil and other
resource-related products, posted an increase in fourth-quarter
adjusted net profit, but it swung to a net loss.
Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) slid 6% even as the French music and media
company said late Thursday fourth-quarter net profit increased more
than 10-fold, to 828 million euros ($1.03 billion)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vivendi-net-profit-jumps-tenfold-in-4th-quarter-2018-02-16).
"While the lack of guide [from Vivendi] may disappoint some
investors, we believe the stock has already been heavily penalized
in recent weeks partly owing to concerns over the 2018 guidance,"
said Goldman Sachs in a research note Friday.
Electricite de France SA, or EDF, (EDF.FR) climbed 4.6% after
the French utility posted a rise in yearly net rise in yearly net
profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/edf-2017-profit-rises-but-uk-earnings-slide-33-2018-02-16)
while a decline in sales wasn't as much as analysts had
anticipated.
Saab AB (SAAB-B.SK) fell 1%, but pared an intraday loss of 12%.
The shares were knocked back after the Swedish defense company
reported weaker-than-expected earnings
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/saab-shares-slump-after-earnings-miss-2018-02-16-34855727)
for the fourth quarter, on lower orders in its Dynamics unit, which
sells ground combat weapons, among other items.
Segro PLC shares (SGRO.LN) jumped 6% after the British
property-investment company raised its dividend by 6.1%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/segro-2017-profit-more-than-doubles-2018-02-16-24853926),
and said pretax profit for 2017 more than doubled to GBP976.3
million.
Air France-KLM (AF.FR) fell 6.4%, with the airline swinging to a
loss in the fourth quarter
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/air-france-klm-swings-to-loss-on-pension-cost-2018-02-16).
Economic data
U.K. retail sales increased just 0.1% on the month
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-retail-sales-growth-slows-more-than-expected-2018-02-16)
in January, the Office for National Statistics said, missing
expectations of 0.6% in a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts.
Sales rose 1.6% year-over-year, lower than the 2.4% rate in the
year-ago period.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 16, 2018 13:29 ET (18:29 GMT)
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