‘Santa rally’ adds to mood of good cheer

European shares rose sharply, with the late “Santa rally” supported by gains in commodities stocks, which came on the back of stronger metals and crude oil prices. Signs of more economic stimulus measures in China, the world’s largest metals consumer, also boosted equity markets.

In the US, a report showed that an increase in consumer purchases in November was accompanied by rising wages and scant inflation, indicating that the biggest part of the US economy will continue to underpin growth. The data also suggested the US economy was strong enough to cope with the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate increase and the additional rate hikes expected next year.

DUBLIN

The Iseq index closed up more than 1 per cent as many of its biggest stocks posted gains on a day of below-average volumes of trading. The market was lifted by a 2 per cent climb for building materials group CRH, which closed at €26.54.

Ryanair advanced by a more modest 0.5 per cent to €15.15, while food group Kerry finished up 0.8 per cent at €74.72.

There were gains, too, for Glanbia, which rose 3 per cent to €17.34, and paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa, which closed up 0.9 per cent at €23.30.

Insulation maker Kingspan was among the few fallers, declining 0.7 per cent to €24.20, while fruit distributor Fyffes was down 1.3 per cent at €1.50. The Green Reit and Hibernia Reit real estate investment trusts also both slipped.

The Dublin market is open for a half-day of trading on Christmas Eve and will then reopen on December 29th.

LONDON

Shares listed in London jumped the most since October 5th as a rebound in commodities pushed mining companies higher. The FTSE 100 rose 2.6 per cent to 6,240.98 at the close, trimming its yearly decline to 5 per cent, while the FTSE All-Share Index added 2.3 per cent.

Glencore and Anglo American, the worst performers in the FTSE 100 index this year, surged 8.5 per cent or more.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose at least 6.1 per cent. Royal Dutch Shell advanced 4.8 per cent after announcing further spending cuts.

The volume of shares changing hands on FTSE 100 companies was 23 per cent lower than the 30-day average.

EUROPE

In the last full trading session before the Christmas break, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 2.8 per cent higher at 1,440.87 points.

The euro zone’s Euro Stoxx 50 advanced 2.3 per cent, while both Germany’s DAX and the CAC 40 in France also climbed 2.3 per cent.

The European basic resources index surged 6.4 per cent, the biggest one-day rise since late August, while the oil and gas index gained 4.7 per cent.

Investors are looking for more signs that Chinese stimulus measures are supporting the world’s top metals user, with some early signs of more spending on the state power grid and on housing.

US

US stocks rose in early trading to pare their December decline, with energy and raw-material shares leading as crude oil prices rallied.

Commodity companies picked up where they left off on Tuesday, with Chevron up 3.3 per cent and copper miner Freeport-McMoRan rising nearly 14 per cent. Alcoa climbed 6.4 per cent to a two-month high, trimming its 2015 drop to about 36 per cent.

Biotechnology company Celgene rose 10 per cent after settling a patent dispute over its top-selling drug, while Micron Technology lost 4.7 per cent after its quarterly sales missed estimates.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 index had increased 1 per cent by 12:45pm in New York, on the way to erasing its decline for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.6 per cent.

– Additional reporting: Bloomberg/Reuters