European shares rise ahead of ECB meeting

European shares advanced for the first day in three as investors speculated on further stimulus from the European Central Bank when it meets on Thursday.

DUBLIN

Dublin came off market session lows late in the day for the Iseq Overall Index to post a 13-point gain on 6,283.19, having spent most of the day above the 6,300 mark. However, volumes, in general, were light.

Building materials group Kingspan was the most notable gainer on the day, adding over a euro, or 4.98 per cent, to finish on €22.225.

Other notable risers on the day were Green Reit, which saw healthy interest as it edged 0.29 per cent higher to €1.364.

Smurfit Kappa, Paddy Power Betfair and CRH all also finished in the black.

On the downside, Permanent TSB was weighed down by exceptionals in its full-year figures, and slipped 7.28 per cent to €2.80. Penny stock Kenmare fared even worse in percentage terms, shedding 23 per cent.

Ryanair’s corporate jet proposal did little for sentiment, with the stock down 1.5 per cent on €13.46.

LONDON

Britain’s top share index edged higher for the first time this week, boosted by a jump in mining shares and a rise in insurer

Prudential

after it announced a special dividend with results that beat expectations.

Prudential rose 2.9 per cent, the top FTSE 100 riser, after its profit was lifted by strong performances at its British, US and Asian life businesses.

Britain's FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 per cent at 6,146.32 points at its close. Mining company Glencore recovered some of the previous session's heavy losses to trade up 2.5 per cent.

Luxury goods company Burberry Group dropped 6.7 per cent. Construction equipment rental company Ashtead retreated 1 per cent.

Mid-caps underperformed blue chips, with the FTSE 250 index down 0.4 per cent, hit by disappointing updates from Restaurant Group, down 22.7 per cent on the day, and G4S, which dropped 12.1 per cent. Among risers, Cairn Energy rose 13.3 per cent.

EUROPE

Europe also rebounded after two days of losses, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rising 0.5 per cent at 1,335.4 points. The euro zone’s blue-chip Euro Stoxx 50 and the broader Stoxx600 indices both advanced by the same amount, with media and raw material companies posting the biggest gains.

The FTSEurofirst remains down by around 7 per cent since the start of 2016, with stock markets having been hit by signs of a slowdown in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, weaker euro zone data and concerns over Europe’s banking sector.

Mediaset led gains Wednesday among media-related companies. BMW fell 1.9 per cent after predicting only a slight increase in deliveries, and not offering a special dividend as it celebrates its 100th anniversary. Royal Boskalis Westminster lost 17 per cent after the shipping company said net profit will be substantially lower in 2016.

NEW YORK

US stocks gained, while the euro erased a loss versus the dollar as investors speculated on the size and scope of any additional stimulus from the European Central Bank. Treasuries fell, while crude rallied.

Energy companies led gains, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed off its lows for the session on the seventh anniversary of the bull market, the third longest on record. The index climbed 0.3 per cent at 1:06pm in New York.

Chevron was up 5.7 per cent at $93.86 and gave the biggest boost to the sector. Biotechs came under pressure after the US government proposed a test program aimed at lowering Medicare drug costs. The Nasdaq Biotechnology sector was down 1.6 per cent. Amgen's 2.3 per cent decline was the biggest drag on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. Regeneron was down 4.2 per cent and Celgene fell 2.6 per cent.

– (Additional reporting Reuters/ Bloomberg)