European Stocks Rally on Optimism About Economy
January 24 2020 - 5:41AM
Dow Jones News
By Avantika Chilkoti
European stocks rose Friday as fresh economic data signaling a
halt to the slowdown in the German manufacturing sector buoyed
investors' sentiment.
The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 1.2%, while
futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3%.
Fresh preliminary data for January on purchasing managers'
indexes, which are closely watched measures of business activity,
suggested that the manufacturing sector in the eurozone - and
Germany, in particular - has fared better than the market had
expected.
"The markets are reacting to the signs of bottoming in German
manufacturing," said Mike Bell, global market strategist at J.P.
Morgan Asset Management. "It's pretty key because the big question
on everyone's mind has been: is there recession risk? And the most
obvious risk there was a downturn in European manufacturing."
Within European equities, Ipsen plunged over 20% after the
French biopharmaceutical company paused trials on a drug for
ultrarare bone diseases, and said it's evaluating the implications
on its 2022 financial outlook. Rémy Cointreau retreated 8.5% in
Paris after the beverages maker reported disappointing sales.
Shares in Ericsson dropped 7.7% Friday after higher costs
weighed on the telecommunications equipment company's latest
earnings, and it said expenses will continue to rise this year.
Meanwhile, Carrefour rose almost 5% after the French retailer
boosted its guidance for 2019 earnings, exceeding investors'
expectations.
Over in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark closed up 0.1% and
Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished the day up almost 0.2%. Chinese and
Korean markets were closed for public holidays.
Later in the day, IHS Markit is scheduled to publish the latest
PMI data for the U.S., which may show very modest slowdowns in the
manufacturing and services sectors while remaining in expansion
territory. .
U.S. companies including American Express are scheduled to
report earnings.
Write to Avantika Chilkoti at Avantika.Chilkoti@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 24, 2020 05:26 ET (10:26 GMT)
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