Stocks mostly rise on hopes of US shutdown deal, rate cut / Photo: Philip FONG - AFP
Stocks mostly rise on hopes of US shutdown deal, rate cut
Stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday on optimism that the US government shutdown was nearing an end and on hopes of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
Paris and Frankfurt both gained around one percent, while London dipped nearing the half-way mark.
In Asia, Hong Kong and Tokyo advanced. Shanghai edged lower.
"The prospect of an end to the US government shutdown later today is fueling demand for risk assets," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.
After passing the Senate, a spending bill to reopen the US government is due before the House of Representatives and then Donald Trump, with hopes services can resume as soon as Friday.
Investors have welcomed the deal, which will end a shutdown that began on October 1 and saw a million federal workers unpaid, food benefits for low-income Americans threatened and thousands of flights cancelled.
It has also meant a string of key data points have not been released, leaving traders and the Fed unable to make informed decisions on policy.
"The end of the shutdown is positive for financial markets as we should get a clear read on economic data in the next week or so," Brooks added.
Adding to the upbeat mood were expectations for a Fed rate cut in December after data from private payrolls firm ADP added to recent reports pointing to a softening US labour market.
"Investors want -- and need -- this data to be soft enough to justify another 25 basis-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve in December," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote bank.
Wall Street closed mixed Tuesday amid worries about elevated tech valuations following a breathtaking AI-fuelled rally this year.
Traders were spooked by news that Japanese tech investment titan SoftBank had sold all its shares in US chip giant Nvidia for $5.8 billion, without giving a reason.
Shares in Nvidia fell three percent on Tuesday, and SoftBank plunged as much as 10 percent in Tokyo after Wednesday's open before closing down 3.5 percent.
In other company news, Scottish energy company SSE soared over 10 percent in London, after outlining its £33 billion ($43 billion) investment plan to upgrade the electricity grid.
- Key figures at around 1115 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,887.79 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.1 percent at 8,243.56
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.1 percent at 24,344.61
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 51,063.31 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 26,922.73 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,000.14 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 47,927.96 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1571 from $1.1588 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3127 from $1.3168
Dollar/yen: UP at 154.86 yen from 154.10 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 88.15 pence from 87.99 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $60.61 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $64.72 per barrel
(S.Andries--TPT)
