European shares rebound off six-month lows

Soothing words from central bankers in China and the US calmed investors yesterday and contributed to European shares bouncing off six-month lows, with the Iseq up 2 per cent. National benchmark indexes rose in all of the 18 western European markets except Italy.

DUBLIN
The Iseq closed up by 2 per cent, or 76.11 points, at 3,860.302.

Main movers included index heavyweight CRH, which added 41 cent, or 2.7 per cent, to finish the day up at €15.22.

Food group Glanbia added 50 cent to advance by 5.3 per cent. It ended the day up at €9.87.

Bank of Ireland recovered some ground with a surge late in the day to close up by 6 per cent at €0.151, while Kerry Group nudged past €40 when it added 55 cent, or 1.4 per cent, to finish the day up at €40.39.

Ryanair touched €7.00 at one point during the day, but gave up some of its gains late in the day to close up by 14 cent, or 2 per cent, at €6.98.

Also in the black on the day was paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa. It advanced by 17 cent, or 1.5 per cent, to finish at €11.55.

LONDON
British stocks rose the most in four weeks as China's central bank took steps to stabilise money-market rates and said it will do more to ease a cash squeeze.

Fresnillo and Rio Tinto each advanced at least 1 per cent as a gauge of mining companies climbed from its lowest level since July 2009.

ARM Holdings increased the most in two months after Investec advised investors to buy the shares.

Rexam, a maker of beverage cans, fell 3 per cent to 451.4 pence, the lowest price since February 12th, after saying that full-year results would be lower than it previously estimated.

The FTSE 100 index gained 72.81 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 6,101.91 at the close in London, its biggest gain since May 28th.

The equity benchmark is still heading for a 7.3 per cent decline in June after the Federal Reserve signalled it may end bond-buying next year if the US economy improves in line with forecasts. The gauge has lost 4.8 per cent so far this quarter, the most since September 2011.

EUROPE
It was a similar case across Europe where stocks climbed from a six-month low as the People's Bank of China allayed concern over a cash crunch.

Peugeot Citroen rose 4.9 per cent after saying it received more than 26,000 orders for its 2008-model crossover in Europe. Vinci rose 3.7 per cent after Berenberg Bank initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating.

France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.3 per cent, while Germany’s DAX increased 1.5 per cent.

Meanwhile European lenders rose, with HSBC adding 2.1 per cent to 669.6 pence and UBS gaining 2.7 per cent to 15.86 Swiss francs.

Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, gained 1.2 per cent to €32.90

US
US stocks rose solidly in early trading, partially recovering from recent steep declines, as strong data pointed to improvements in the economy.

Equities were volatile for much of the session as the data initially raised concerns about central bank stimulus, but analysts said a rebound was due coming off a large drop in Monday’s session, which itself followed the worst week for the S&P 500 since April.

“Everyone panicked after the Fed, but the fear is starting to come out of the system now. Investors are realising that the Fed is still a long way from raising rates,” said Mark Foster, who helps manage $600 million at Kirr Marbach & Co in Columbus, Indiana.

Housing stocks were among the strongest of the day, surging after Lennar posted strong results and the company pointed to a "solid housing recovery." The stock rose 1 per cent to $35.34 while peer homebuilder PulteGroup was up 3.9 per cent at $19.02. – (Additional reporting:Bloomberg/Reuters)