London (AFP) – European and US stocks mostly rose on Thursday thanks to well-received earnings updates, including from automaker Tesla. Tesla shares surged over 17 percent after the company led by Elon Musk reported third-quarter profits of $2.2 billion, up 17 percent from the year-ago period, on an eight-percent increase in revenues to $25.2 billion. The results broke a string of recent Tesla earnings that have seen the once high-flying company report lower profits year-over-year as competition intensifies among automakers. The outspoken Musk offered a bullish outlook on Tesla’s prospects, pointing to the strong results as evidence that the company’s ambitious vision is being realized. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed, while the Dow dipped.
“For now, the excitement over Tesla’s report and outlook seems to be doing most of the driving,” said market analyst Patrick O’Hare at Briefing.com. IBM sank over six percent as it reported a $330 million quarterly loss on lower-than-expected revenues. Boeing shares lost over three percent after a machinist union voted against the latest contract offer, extending a nearly six-week strike, but they pared losses during morning trading.
European indices rose, with investors anticipating interest rate cuts, while oil prices climbed then fell as the crude market continued to experience volatile trading. With the US presidential election still seen as a coin toss less than two weeks out, there was plenty of uncertainty on trading floors. Observers noted that dealers were eyeing a win for Donald Trump and policies such as tax cuts that could stoke inflation again. That, along with a strong run of US economic data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials backing a cautious approach to easing monetary policy, has led to a reduction in expectations for rate cuts.
Traders had previously been confident that the central bank would follow up last month’s bumper 50-basis-point cut with another at its November meeting and a smaller one in December. However, those expectations have diminished, as indicated by rising Treasury yields in recent weeks. The situation appears different in Europe, where analysts are betting on the possibility of significant rate cuts in the eurozone and Britain. This shift follows Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey’s statement that UK inflation was falling quicker than expected and amid deteriorating eurozone economic data.
Business activity in the single currency bloc ticked lower for the second consecutive month in October, according to a closely watched survey published on Thursday. The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers’ index, published by S&P Global, registered a figure of 49.7 compared to 49.6 in September. Any reading above 50 indicates growth, while below 50 shows contraction. The latest PMI data for Britain on Thursday showed that its “economy struggled” at the start of the fourth quarter, according to Kathleen Brooks, research director at traders XTB.
– Key figures around 1530 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 42,313.36 points
New York – S&P: UP 0.8 percent at 5,802.32
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 18,378.31
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,269.38 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,503.28 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 at 19,443.00 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 38,143.29 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 20,489.62 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,280.26 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0798 from $1.0787 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2956 from $1.2929
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.95 yen from 152.65 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.34 pence from 83.41 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $74.53 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $70.26 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP