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European Market Updates

French Market Advances

By RTTNews Staff Writer   ✉  | Published:  | Google News Follow Us  | Join Us
rttnewslogo20mar2024

The French market rose on Tuesday, after Francois Hollande was sworn in as France's President and data showed that the Eurozone economy avoided a recession in the first quarter. The Asian markets ended mixed as Greek worries persisted.

Investors look forward to a meeting between Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel later in the day to examine how they will overcome differences on tackling the sovereign debt crisis.

Meanwhile, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker dismissed talks on Greece's exit from Eurozone as "propaganda" and said there was "absolutely no discussion" on Greece during Monday's euro area finance ministers' meeting. "Our unshakable desire is to keep Greece in euro," Juncker said after the meeting.

Moody's Investors Service on Monday downgraded 26 Italian banks after lowering the credit ratings of the country by a notch in mid-February. Moody's said the ratings for Italian banks are now amongst the lowest in advanced European countries, reflecting the banks' susceptibility to the adverse operating environments in Italy and Europe.

Additionally, UBS reduced its rating on global financials to "Underweight" from "Neutral."

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.52 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 0.16 percent.

The CAC 40 index is currently advancing 0.81 percent.

Vivendi is gaining 3.9 percent after reporting first-quarter results.

STMiroelectronics is rising 2.7 percent and LVMH is adding 2.2 percent.

S&P raised Alcatel Lucent to "Hold" from "Sell." The stock is up 0.5 percent.

UBS raised Total to "Buy" from "Neutral." The stock is gaining 1.3 percent.

Societe Generale is up 1 percent and BNP Paribas is moderately higher. Credit Agricole is losing 1.4 percent.

Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is adding 0.32 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is rising 0.23 percent. Switzerland's SMI is gaining 0.20 percent.

In economic news, Germany's economic sentiment fell more than expected in May, a survey by Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research revealed. The indicator of economic sentiment fell to 10.8 in May from 23.4 in April. Economists had expected the index to fall to 19.

Data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed that the German economy expanded more than expected in the first quarter. Gross domestic product rose 0.5 percent from the prior quarter, when it fell 0.2 percent. Economists had expected only 0.1 percent growth. Meanwhile, the French economy recorded zero growth due to falling investment.

Eurozone economy avoided a recession in the first quarter, flash data from Eurostat revealed. Gross domestic product for the 17-nation bloc remained flat sequentially after shrinking 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Economists were forecasting a 0.2 percent contraction for the first quarter.

China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.25 percent after data showed that foreign direct investment in the country declined for the sixth consecutive month in April. Investment was down 0.74 percent from the prior year, but the rate was slower than the 6.1 percent decline seen in March.

Australia's All Ordinaries and Japan's Nikkei 225 slid around 0.8 percent each, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.8 percent.

In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages fell sharply at the open, but staged a recovery in mid-day trading and moved back to the downside going into the close. The Dow fell about 1 percent while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 slid around 1.1 percent each.

In the commodity space, crude for June delivery is falling $0.15 to $94.63 per barrel and June gold is losing $2.2 to $1558.8 a troy ounce.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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