European shares, US Futures climb, BHP Billiton gains
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
LONDON: Aug. 24 (Bloomberg): Stocks in Europe and Asia advanced and US index futures rose as higher commodity prices boosted the earnings outlook for metal producers.
BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group gained as copper rallied in London and Shanghai. Sulzer climbed 5.3 per cent after the Swiss maker of textile machines reported profit that beat analysts' estimates. WPP Plc increased 3.6 per cent after Deutsche Bank AG recommended the shares.
Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.7 per cent to 236.58 as of 8:23 a.m. in London. The measure has rebounded 50 per cent since March 9 to a 10-month high after Germany and France unexpectedly expanded last quarter. The global economy is "beginning to emerge" from a recession after aggressive action by central banks and governments, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said at a meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last week.
"People are relieved that we are no longer talking about the 'D-word' of depression and rather that we are now coming out of recession," said Rupert Armitage, head of equities at Shore Capital Group Plc in London, which has about $2.3 billion in assets under management. "Ultimately it's about confidence and investors now are feeling much better than they did 9-to-12 months ago."
Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in September gained 0.6 per cent, indicating the benchmark for US equities may extend last week's increase that sent the measure to the highest level since October. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 2.4 per cent today, led by raw-material producers.
Governments around the world have pledged about $2 trillion in stimulus measures amid the worst worldwide recession since the Great Depression. Bernanke and other global policy makers have cautioned that the recovery is likely to be muted, indicating they would not soon remove all the stimulus injected into the financial system.
Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the financial crisis, said the chance of a double-dip recession is increasing because of risks related to ending global monetary and fiscal stimulus.
The global economy will bottom out in the second half of 2009, Roubini wrote in a Financial Times commentary today. The recession in the US, the U.K., and some European countries will not be "formally over" before the end of the year, while the recovery has started in nations such as China, France, Germany, Australia and Japan, he said.
BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, gained 1.5 per cent to 1,615.5 pence in London, while Rio Tinto, the third-biggest, jumped 1.5 per cent to 2,433.5 pence. Copper rose 1.8 per cent on the London Metal Exchange amid speculation the demand outlook for industrial metals is improving.
Sulzer surged 5.3 per cent to 86.35 Swiss francs after reporting first-half net income of 155.6 million francs ($146 million). Analysts in a Bloomberg survey had predicted 128 million francs.
WPP advanced 3.6 per cent to 522.5 pence after Deutsche Bank upgraded the world's largest advertising company to "buy" from "hold" before it reports earnings this week. The analysts increased their price estimate for the shares by 31 per cent to 610 pence.
BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group gained as copper rallied in London and Shanghai. Sulzer climbed 5.3 per cent after the Swiss maker of textile machines reported profit that beat analysts' estimates. WPP Plc increased 3.6 per cent after Deutsche Bank AG recommended the shares.
Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.7 per cent to 236.58 as of 8:23 a.m. in London. The measure has rebounded 50 per cent since March 9 to a 10-month high after Germany and France unexpectedly expanded last quarter. The global economy is "beginning to emerge" from a recession after aggressive action by central banks and governments, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said at a meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last week.
"People are relieved that we are no longer talking about the 'D-word' of depression and rather that we are now coming out of recession," said Rupert Armitage, head of equities at Shore Capital Group Plc in London, which has about $2.3 billion in assets under management. "Ultimately it's about confidence and investors now are feeling much better than they did 9-to-12 months ago."
Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in September gained 0.6 per cent, indicating the benchmark for US equities may extend last week's increase that sent the measure to the highest level since October. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 2.4 per cent today, led by raw-material producers.
Governments around the world have pledged about $2 trillion in stimulus measures amid the worst worldwide recession since the Great Depression. Bernanke and other global policy makers have cautioned that the recovery is likely to be muted, indicating they would not soon remove all the stimulus injected into the financial system.
Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the financial crisis, said the chance of a double-dip recession is increasing because of risks related to ending global monetary and fiscal stimulus.
The global economy will bottom out in the second half of 2009, Roubini wrote in a Financial Times commentary today. The recession in the US, the U.K., and some European countries will not be "formally over" before the end of the year, while the recovery has started in nations such as China, France, Germany, Australia and Japan, he said.
BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, gained 1.5 per cent to 1,615.5 pence in London, while Rio Tinto, the third-biggest, jumped 1.5 per cent to 2,433.5 pence. Copper rose 1.8 per cent on the London Metal Exchange amid speculation the demand outlook for industrial metals is improving.
Sulzer surged 5.3 per cent to 86.35 Swiss francs after reporting first-half net income of 155.6 million francs ($146 million). Analysts in a Bloomberg survey had predicted 128 million francs.
WPP advanced 3.6 per cent to 522.5 pence after Deutsche Bank upgraded the world's largest advertising company to "buy" from "hold" before it reports earnings this week. The analysts increased their price estimate for the shares by 31 per cent to 610 pence.