Saturday, April 26, 2025
1:32 AM
Doha,Qatar
RELATED STORIES

European markets mixed on China, Greek parliament vote

The euro yesterday dropped to $1.1140 from $1.1159 late in New York on Wednesday.

AFP/London

Europe’s main stock markets closed mixed yesterday, rebounding slightly from recent heavy losses linked to China’s weakening of its currency and awaiting a Greek parliament vote on terms for a third bailout.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day down a slight 0.04% at 6,568.33 points.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 rose 0.82% to 11,014.63 points, while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 1.25% to end at 4,986.85.
The euro dropped to $1.1140 from $1.1159 late in New York on Wednesday.
“So fears of Chinese economic meltdown appear to have been allayed for the time being, evident in a broad stock market rally,” said Augustin Eden, research analyst at Accendo Markets.
Europe’s main indices had slumped over the past two days, with Frankfurt and Paris both shedding more than 3% on Wednesday.
China weakened its currency for the third consecutive day yesterday, but financial markets that had been shaken by the earlier surprise devaluation took heart as authorities pledged not to let the yuan plummet.
The central bank trimmed the reference rate for the yuan—also known as the renminbi—by 1.11% to 6.4010 yuan against the dollar, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System said, from the previous day’s 6.3306.
Analysts have viewed the action as a way for China to both boost exports by making its goods cheaper abroad and push economic reforms.
It comes after recent economic data out of China has reinforced concerns that growth is slowing in the world’s second largest economy.
The reassuring tones from Beijing sent most Asian markets to higher closes yesterday, with Tokyo up 0.99%, Sydney rising 0.11%, and Hong Kong 0.43% ahead.
Elsewhere yesterday, Athens’ main stocks index closed down 0.69% at 686.65 points even as official data showed Greece’s economy expanded by 0.8% in the second quarter of 2015. Analysts had expected a 0.5% contraction.
According to the new figures, the Greek economy posted zero growth in the first quarter of the year after having contracted 0.2% in the last quarter of 2014 - thus averting two periods of decline that would constitute a recession.
The figures showed second quarter growth up 1.4% compared with the same period the previous year.
“Greece’s GDP figures for Q2 brought some rare good news, but they relate to an entirely different economy than the one currently being strangled by capital controls,” said economist Jonathan Loynes at research firm Capital Economics.
“But the figures do not change our view that the economic assumptions built into the bailout plan are likely to prove far too optimistic,” he said.
The data comes as Greek lawmakers held an emergency parliament session yesterday for a crucial vote on ratifying a hurriedly concluded bailout deal, but Germany—Europe’s de facto paymaster—has cast doubt on the agreement.
Greece and its creditors are under pressure to finalise the €85bn ($94.8bn) deal by August 20 when Athens must repay some €3.4bn to the European Central Bank.
In New York, Wall Street stocks wobbled yesterday after US data showed a solid gain in retail sales and a modest uptick in jobless claims.
After earlier falling US shares rallied around mid-day in New York, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.16% at 17,431.14 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.05% to 2,087.01 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.20% to 5,054.35.
“This market continues to find difficulty in knowing what to think with so many mixed-up signals from the economic data, central banks, earnings, and the market behaviour itself,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
Overall US retail sales rose 0.6% in July from June to $446.5bn, a slightly bigger increase than the 0.5% gain projected by analysts, according to the Commerce Department.
The US Department of Labor reported that jobless claims rose by 5,000 to 274,000 in the week ending August 13.

Comments
  • There are no comments.

Add Comments

B1Details

Latest News

SPORT

Canada's youngsters set stage for new era

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.

1:43 PM February 26 2017
TECHNOLOGY

A payment plan for universal education

Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education

11:46 AM December 14 2016
CULTURE

10-man Lekhwiya leave it late to draw Rayyan 2-2

Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions

7:10 AM November 26 2016
ARABIA

Yemeni minister hopes 48-hour truce will be maintained

The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged

10:30 AM November 27 2016
ARABIA

QM initiative aims to educate society on arts and heritage

Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.

10:55 PM November 27 2016
ARABIA

Qatar, Indonesia to boost judicial ties

The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.

10:30 AM November 28 2016
ECONOMY

Sri Lanka eyes Qatar LNG to fuel power plants in ‘clean energy shift’

Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.

10:25 AM November 12 2016
B2Details
C7Details