European markets breathe sigh of relief on Crimea

LONDON: Europe’s main stock markets rose Tuesday as investors breathed a sigh of relief despite Russia incorporating Crimea amid an outcry from the West.
In afternoon trading, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.32 per cent from Monday’s close to 6,589.42 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 added 0.59 per cent to 9,234.76 points and the Paris CAC 40 climbed 0.96 per cent to 4,313.13 compared. The euro slid to $1.3903 from $1.3931 late Monday in New York.
Today’s remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin “further soothed investor concerns, causing equities to rise and safe haven gold to extend its losses,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
Meanwhile: US stocks also opened higher. Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10 per cent to 16,263.62 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.08 percent to 1,860.39, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.17 percent to 4,287.41.
Gold meanwhile hit one-week lows as dealers took profits from recent gains. Prices slid to $1,362.50 per ounce Tuesday, from $1,378.50 late Monday.
That weighed on London-listed gold miners Fresnillo and Randgold, whose share prices slid by five percent and 2.4 percent to stand at 878 pence and 4,850 pence respectively.
Meanwhile: Asian equities rose following a Wall Street rally overnight as traders set aside Ukraine worries and turned their attention to economic matters, dealers said.
Better-than-expected US data on Monday had provided support as investors await the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting  Wednesday.