European shares rebounded on Wednesday, as investors picked stocks that were battered in a recent market sell-off on concerns about mounting Western sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
The European Stoxx 600 index rose 3.6% after a series of losses over four days, the German DAX jumped 5%, the French CAC 40 rose 4.5%, while the British FTSE rose 2%.
The hard-hit banking, travel and leisure sectors and automakers led the gains in morning trading, with each advancing more than 4%.
Shares of European Apple suppliers, such as “ASML”, “AMS” and “Infineon”, rose between 3.5% and 5% after Apple added the ability to connect to 5G networks to the iPhone S devices. .e and iPad Air were low-cost and provided a faster chip for computers.
Shares of Adidas jumped 7.6% after the German sportswear company said it expected a recovery in sales of its business in China, but warned of damage of up to 250 million euros ($273.10 million) from halting business in Russia.
Unicredit, Italy’s second-largest bank, advanced 7.4% and France’s BNP Paribas rose 7.9%, even as the two banks disclosed their exposure to Russia.
Global stock markets fell in a volatile session on Tuesday after the United States and Britain moved to ban Russian oil imports, raising fears of global inflation. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index has lost nearly 13 percent since the start of the year.
Asian stocks
Shares in mainland China, Hong Kong and Japan posted mixed declines, Wednesday, as investors continued to assess the potential economic fallout from events in Ukraine, especially after President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the United States would ban imports of Russian oil while the United Kingdom announced plans to phase out its dependence on oil. it by the end of the year.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by 1.33% in afternoon trading, the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China decreased by 0.96%, and the Shenzhen Composite decreased by 0.981%, and the indices were down more than 3% during early trading.
Also, official data released on Wednesday showed that producer inflation in China rose in February, with the producer price index increasing by 8.8% year on year for that month; The February data came close to the 9.1% that was in January in the year’s rise, and it also came close to the expectations of analysts in a Archyde.com poll for a gain of 8.7%; Meanwhile, China’s consumer price index for February rose 0.9% year-on-year, unchanged from January’s growth and in line with expectations of a Archyde.com poll.
In Japan, the Nikkei index reversed course and closed at a 16-month low, on Wednesday, tracking the impact of the decline in Asian markets, as investors assess the impact of the worsening conflict in Eastern Europe and the new US embargo on Russian oil.
The Nikkei fell 0.3 percent to close at 24,717.53 points, its lowest since November 2020, after rising 1.1 percent earlier in the session. The broader Topix index also trimmed its gains and closed down 0.06 percent at 1758.89 points. Thus, the two indices closed down for the fourth consecutive session.
“Investors sold Japanese stocks as markets weakened in other parts of Asia,” said Takatoshi Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Asset Management.
“Investors in Europe in particular, who sought safe haven in Japanese stocks, sold their holdings as the tension surrounding Ukraine escalated,” he added.
Investors are cautious about the risks of inflation and a global economic slowdown in the wake of higher oil prices. US President Joe Biden imposed an immediate ban on imports of Russian oil and other energy in response to the invasion of Ukraine, in a move that could limit economic growth.
Nikkei fell under the weight of a decline in employment agency Recruit Holdings, which fell 4.46 percent, while Kikkoman soy sauce maker shares lost 6.67 percent. Shares of Fast Retailing, owner of clothing store Uniqlo, gave up early gains to close 0.66% lower.
Car maker Isuzu Motors jumped 7.91 percent, becoming the best performer over the Nikkei, followed by Fujitsu computer maker, which rose 5.54 percent. Shares of Tokyo Electric Power Co. fell 7 percent, the worst performer on the index.
(agencies)