European markets fly on Ukraine plane crash probe deal

LONDON: Europe’s main stock markets jumped on Tuesday as investors welcomed news that pro-Russian rebels had handed over the black boxes from downed flight MH17, easing concerns over the disaster.
Frankfurt’s main DAX index gained 1.27 per cent to end at 9,734.33 points, compared to Monday’s close.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 0.99 per cent higher at 6,795.34 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 ended the day up 1.50 per cent at 4,369.52.
“Markets in Europe were recuperating losses from the past few sessions due to events in Ukraine and Gaza, despite a disappointing result from Credit Suisse,” said Japer Lawler at CMC Markets.
“There still remains a lot of uncertainty surrounding the MH17 crash but the feeling is starting to creep in that the repercussion on markets is not going to be too long-lasting.”
The downing of the Malaysia Airlines jet last Thursday in Ukraine inflamed tensions with Russia, with Western governments saying it was shot down by pro-Moscow separatists.
Those tensions eased on Tuesday on news rebels had handed the plane’s two black boxes to Malaysian officials and announced a ceasefire to provide safe access for an international probe.
That helped Russian stocks to bounce back from three days of losses in which Moscow’s main index lost some 8 per cent and boosted the ruble against the euro and the dollar.
Wall Street was also given a kick by a stream of generally solid earnings reports that suggested the US economy, the world’s largest, is continuing to pick up momentum.
“Investors continue to use the pullbacks as an opportunity to buy into the story of a US economic recovery,” said Lawler.
In mid-afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.40 per cent to 17,120.44.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.56 per cent to 1,984.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.83 per cent to 4,461.55.
Meanwhile the European Union said it will produce a new wider list of Ukraine sanctions targets on Thursday, including Russian personalities and entities.
The EU had decided to accelerate the “targeted measures agreed” at a summit last week, which had set an end-July deadline, foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said.
Berenberg analyst Robert Wood noted that rising tensions around Ukraine could in the long-term start to hit more Western European economies, even as the UK released strong manufacturing survey data.
“The latest escalation of events in Ukraine could knock manufacturers’ confidence further in the next few months as the Putin effect spreads beyond Eastern Europe and Germany,” he added.
European earnings updates also struck a more cautious note.
Shares in Credit suisse closed down 0.96 per cent after the bank posted an unexpectedly big net second-quarter loss of 700 million Swiss francs due to a huge US tax evasion fine.
French advertising giant Publicis sank 4.69 per cent after reporting a sharp fall in profits for the first half of the year and warned of a cautious outlook for the year.
And Eurotunnel shares closed down 0.10 per cent after the company posted a loss in the first half of the year, despite reiterating its targets for this year and
Asian equities also pushed upwards on Tuesday, helped by an easing of concern over Ukraine.
Hong Kong rallied 1.69 per cent to close at 23,782.11 -- its highest level since December—and Shanghai rose 1.02 per cent.
Tokyo closed up 0.84 per cent, Seoul ended 0.52 per cent higher and Sydney gained just 0.06 per cent.
But the upbeat sentiment weighed on the price of gold, which is often seen as a safe-haven investment in times of trouble.
In commodity deals, gold fell to $1,310.25 per ounce from $1,311.50 on Monday.
The European single currency meanwhile fell to $1.3470, down from $1.3523 late in New York on Monday.