Investor sentiment drives share values higher

Eurostoxx 50: 2,199.98 (+16.59) Frankfurt DAX: 5,532.38 (+58.60) Paris CAC: 3,084.37 (+33.01):EUROPEAN STOCKS rose for a second day yesterday, amid continuing speculation the Federal Reserve will take action to bolster the economy and as Chinese manufacturing data exceeded forecasts.

Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.8 per cent in London. The gauge has fallen 22 per cent from this year’s peak in February as European and US economic data that trailed forecasts added to concern the global recovery is at risk.

“Chinese PMI is today’s good news as it shows the world is not falling apart as everybody seemed to believe,” said Morten Kongshaug, a chief equity analyst at Danske Bank in Copenhagen.

“European PMI is also a positive as the economy is not contracting,” he said.

Chinese manufacturing may contract at a slower pace in August as the world’s second-biggest economy weathers slumping global confidence, according to a preliminary purchasing-managers index compiled by HSBC and Markit Economics.

UBS gained 1.8 per cent to 10.72 Swiss francs after saying it will eliminate about 3,500 jobs, or 5.3 per cent of the workforce, as stricter capital requirements and a slowdown in client trading reduce earnings.

AG, the second-largest Swiss bank, rose 2 per cent to 21.05 Swiss francs.

Charter rallied 20 per cent to 746p, the biggest gain since June. The company has turned down two indicative cash-and-share offers from Melrose this year.

Logitech International, the world’s biggest maker of computer mice, advanced 6.7 per cent to 7.71 Swiss francs.

Wacker Chemie, the second-biggest producer of solar-grade silicon, rose 3.2 per cent to €95.28 as Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares.

Renewable Energy, a Norwegian maker of solar energy components, climbed 5.4 per cent to 8.91 kroner.

National Bank of Greece, the nation’s largest lender, slid 9 per cent to €3.23, the lowest since 1997.

Ergasias retreated 5.6 per cent to €2.03.

NKT slumped 18 per cent to 182.90 kroner after the world’s biggest maker of industrial vacuum cleaners cut its full-year outlook and reported second-quarter net income that fell short of analyst estimates. – (Bloomberg)