Global stocks mainly rise, but London flatlines on recession news

LONDON, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP): Eurozone stocks chased Asia and New York higher Thursday as investors cheered bright earnings and mulled the outlook for US interest rate cuts, but London flatlined after it emerged that Britain has fallen into recession, dealers said.
Carmakers drove the Paris stock market upwards after Stellantis posted record 2023 profits as demand revved higher for new vehicles, one day after news of bumper annual earnings from its French rival Renault.
Renault and Stellantis saw their shares rally 6.3 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively, topping the risers board.
Frankfurt stocks advanced strongly after Commerzbank revealed that higher interest rates had helped it achieve its biggest annual net profit in 15 years, sending shares in Germany's second-largest lender up 4.5 per cent.
London equities, however, stagnated after official data showed the UK entered recession at the end of last year, as high inflation prolonged a cost-of-living crisis for millions of Britons.
UK gross domestic product shrank 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023 after contracting 0.1 per cent in the prior three months.
That places the economy in recession, which is defined as two quarters in a row of falling GDP. The news came on the same day it was revealed that fellow G7 nation Japan was also in recession.
"European markets are (mostly) on the rise..., with the FTSE 100 lagging its mainland peers after the UK slumped into a technical recession," noted Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.
Most Asian markets rose also Thursday, tracking a Wall Street rebound and following positive remarks from a senior Federal Reserve official that US inflation was headed in the right direction.
Figures on Tuesday showing the US consumer price index slowed less than expected in January dealt a body blow to hopes of an early US interest rate cut and sent Asia indices mostly lower.
But investors returned to buying on expectations borrowing costs will be reduced this year, while traders also cheered strong earnings releases that soothed any worries about companies' bottom lines.
Tokyo stocks rallied despite official data showing that the Japanese economy had entered recession -- and has been overtaken by Germany as the world's third-biggest economy.
Elsewhere, Taipei's Taiex stocks hit a record high, fuelled by a surge in chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) after it reported strong sales that lifted optimism for the sector and demand for chips used for artificial intelligence.
Jakarta stocks also rallied after defence minister Prabowo Subianto declared himself the winner in Indonesia's general election, a result observers said indicated policy continuity.