⌛ Did you miss ProPicks’ 13% gains in May? Subscribe now & catch June’s top AI-picked stocks early.Unlock Stocks

European shares rise with Germany's DAX hitting record

Published 19/05/2023, 08:23
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 18, 2023.    REUTERS/Staff
DE40
-
JP225
-
GS
-
STOXX
-

By Ankika Biswas and Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) -European stocks rose on Friday and Germany's blue-chip index hit a record high as hopes of progress in U.S. debt ceiling talks boosted risk sentiment, although negotiations appeared to have reached an impasses moments after markets closed.

The DAX, which houses Germany's top 40 companies, closed 0.7% higher, after rising as far as 16,331.94 earlier in the day.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index also rose 0.7% to a more than one-year high, with financial stocks leading gains.

Talks on Capitol Hill on raising the debt ceiling had appeared to be moving forward, with Democrat negotiators saying they made "steady progress" toward a deal that would avoid a default.

However, the lead Republican negotiator later said talks had paused, with the White House saying a deal remains possible.

"The market seemed to be going into this weekend thinking that the talks were going to move toward...an agreement, said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.

"What you're seeing now is the Republicans saying, 'no, this is not acceptable', and they just staged a walkout."

Separately, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the path for monetary policy has grown less certain after just over a year's worth of aggressive rate rises aimed at countering inflation, while European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stressed the need for the ECB to keep rates high.

Big European companies have delivered significantly stronger than expected first-quarter results, defying the economic backdrop of surging inflation and rising interest rates.

Nonetheless, worries about that global economy, falling customer demand and margin pressures persist.

Shares of semiconductor companies such as AMS and Nordic Semiconductor rallied more than 5% as Swiss and Norwegian markets reopened after Thursday's holiday.

Troubled Swedish real estate group SBB fell 5.7% after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut its price target by 50% to 5 Swedish crowns. The stock has shed more than half its value this month on concerns about the group's debt.

European sports retailers JD Sports Fashion, Adidas (ETR:ADSGN) and Puma fell between 3.3% and 7.8% after Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) Inc trimmed its annual sales and profit forecast.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 18, 2023.    REUTERS/Staff

Data showed German producer prices rose slightly more than expected to 4.1% in April, on a year-on-year basis.

Greece is headed for what is likely to be an inconclusive parliamentary election on Sunday, while ratings agency Moody's will review Italy's credit rating, with a chance of a downgrade to "junk", although analysts say this is unlikely.

Latest comments

Loading next article…
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.