Markets

European stocks edge up after three-day rout, banks still weak

Property and technology stocks lifted the wider European benchmark

Silicon Valley Bank’s headquarters in California. The bank's troubles have caused turbulence in the global stock markets. Photograph: Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Tue Mar 14 2023 - 08:38

Rate-sensitive property and technology stocks lifted the wider European benchmark on Tuesday after a three-day selloff in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse that sent chills through the banking sector globally.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.1 per cent by 0813 GMT after plunging 2.4 per cent a day earlier in its worst sell-off of the year.

Property and technology stocks climbed 1.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively, as investors bought into the sectors that tend to benefit from lower interest rates.

European bond yields fell further as investors bet on reduced policy tightening from the European Central Bank (ECB). Traders are now pricing in a 25 basis-point hike as the most likely outcome at the ECB's policy meeting on Thursday, having priced in a 50 basis-point hike with near certainty last week.

READ MORE

The European banks index fell 0.6per cent after posting its biggest percentage loss in more than a year on Monday.

Shares of Credit Suisse fell 1.3 per cent after the embattled Swiss lender said customer “outflows stabilised to much lower levels but had not yet reversed” in its 2022 annual report. The stock hit a record low on Monday, swept up in wider banking sector sell-off.

HSBC slipped 1.8 per cent in its fourth consecutive day of losses. The UK bank bought the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank on Monday, rescuing a key lender for technology start-ups in Britain. - Reuters

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023

LATEST STORIES