European stocks rise as Trump policy pushes US dollar, bond yields up
Stocks in Europe traded higher on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar stood near a 13-and-a-half-year high and treasury yields continued to rise as traders anticipate President-elect Donald Trump’s policies will stoke inflation.
The pan-European STOXX 600 went up 0.29 percent.
The dollar index – which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies – was around $99.745 in European trade after paring some gains. It had risen to 100.22 earlier. If it manages to break the 100.51 mark that it reached in December 2015, this would mark the highest level since 2003, according to Reuters.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields also continued to tick up.
Traders will be watching Trump’s economic policies closely because of the effect it could have on monetary policy. The Republican has said that he plans to spend on infrastructure and cut taxes to stimulate the economy. Increased fiscal stimulus could have an impact on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking path.
A number of Fed officials spoke on Monday about Trump’s policies. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said that a “more stimulative fiscal stance” would “bolster the case for raising rates”.
Nokia shares fall
Nokia shares fell over 6 percent after the Finnish company reported that net sales in its key networks business were set to decline in the full-year 2017. The network equipment maker also announced a 1 billion euro ($1.08 billion) share buyback program.
EasyJet reported a decline in revenue for the 12 months to the end of September but reported a record number of passengers and load factor. The budget airline warned on headwinds for 2017, however, sending shares seesawing.
London-listed miner Antofagasta was near the bottom of the STOXX 600 after HSBC began coverage of the stock with a “reduce” rating. Other basic resource stocks including Anglo American, and Glencore were deep in negative territory as the strong dollar weighed on metal prices.
Elsewhere, Fiat Chrysler and Cummins Inc have been accused via a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. of knowingly deceiving consumers and regulators of “illegally high levels of diesel emissions in their vehicles.” Both firms plan to fight the lawsuit and deny the claims. Shares of Fiat Chrysler were sharply lower.
Banks negative
The banks were underperforming on Tuesday. Shares of Societe Generale were in negative territory after reports that France’s finance ministry had started a process to recoup 2.2 billion euros worth of tax deductions given to the lender after losses caused by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel.
And Italy’s Unicredit was in the red after Exane BNP Paribas cut its price target for the stock. Unicredit is planning to raise 13 billion euros to boost its finances, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Source: CNBC
