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E.L. & C. Baillieu Stockbroking Ltd is a Participating Organisation of the Australian Stock Exchange Limited. The firm commenced business in 1889.  Since its inception, E.L. & C. Baillieu Stockbroking Ltd has encouraged and assisted private investors.

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E.L. & C. Baillieu Morning Wrap; European stocks higher on political news from Greece

European stocks rose as Spanish and Greek shares bounced back from recent declines amid signs that Greece may be close to forming a coalition government, and as worries about Spain's banking sector receded.

Author: E.L. & C. Baillieu Stockbroking - by Andrew Thain


HEADLINES

- The Dow industrials broke a six-session losing streak as a potential breakthrough by Greek political leaders to form a coalition government eased concerns about the country's exit from the euro zone.

- European stocks rose as Spanish and Greek shares bounced back from recent declines amid signs that Greece may be close to forming a coalition government and as worries about Spain's banking sector receded. Better-than-expected results from UniCredit boosted financials
firms.

- Crude-oil futures settled modestly higher, snapping a six-day losing streak that slashed prices by 8.8% to three-month lows.

- Gold futures eked out a slight gain, rising for the first time this week as relative calm in Europe drew buyers back to the precious metal after a three-day selloff.


US MARKETS

The Dow industrials broke a six-session losing streak as a potential breakthrough by Greek political leaders to form a coalition government eased concerns about the country's exit from the euro zone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 19.98 points, or 0.2%, to 12855.04. Blue chips briefly turned negative in the final minutes, but survived the swoon to end their longest string of declines since August.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 3.41 points, or 0.3%, to 1357.99, as utility and telecommunications stocks led the market higher. But the technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite fell 1.07 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2933.64, as Cisco Systems slumped $1.97, or 11%, to $16.81.

The networking-equipment company gave a downbeat outlook for the quarter ahead, warning that big customers were exercising caution with technology spending.

In corporate news, Priceline.com fell 37.84, or 5.3%, to 681.11, after the online-travel booker reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded forecasts but provided a cautious outlook for the second quarter.


EUROPEAN MARKETS

European stocks rose as Spanish and Greek shares bounced back from recent declines amid signs that Greece may be close to forming a coalition government and as worries about Spain's banking sector receded. Better-than-expected results from UniCredit boosted financials firms.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index on Thursday rose 0.6%, to 251.10. The German DAX index gained 0.7%, to 6518, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.3%, to 5543.95, and the French CAC-40 index moved up 0.4%, to 3130.17.

In Spain, the IBEX 35 index rose 3.4%, to 7045.70, more than reversing a 3% tumble in the prior session on banking-sector worries after the government late Wednesday said it would take a 45% stake in Bankia . The lender's shares trimmed an earlier loss to close 0.3% lower, but they are off more than 13% this week.


ASIAN MARKETS

Asian markets edged lower after disappointing China trade data, while India's rupee rallied after the government imposed foreign-exchange restrictions aimed at halting the currency's recent slump.

The Nikkei fell 0.4% to 9009.65, after earlier dropping below the 9000 level, the first time since February. Korea's KOSPI fell 0.3% to 1944.93. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.5% to 20227.28 and the China Shanghai SE Composite closed flat at 2410.23.


AUSTRALIAN MARKETS

The Australian sharemarket has closed higher, recovering from a one-month low, as miners rose on upbeat comments from Rio Tinto and a surprise drop in unemployment. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 20.5 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 4295.6, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 21.6 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 4353.8.

Gains were led by the gold sector, which jumped 4.2 per cent, recovering from yesterday's slump. Materials rose 1.7 per cent, energy gained 0.9 per cent, while financials were the main drag on the market, falling 0.5 per cent after ANZ went ex-dividend.


OIL

Crude-oil futures settled modestly higher, snapping a six-day losing streak that slashed prices by 8.8% to three-month lows.

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 27 cents higher, at $97.08 a barrel.


METALS

Gold futures eked out a slight gain, rising for the first time this week as relative calm in Europe drew buyers back to the precious metal after a three-day selloff.

The most-actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, rose $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,595.50 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Andrew Thain can be contacted by email; CLICK HERE.

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