Europe Markets Soaring- Our Markets next?

European stocks soaring, U.S. futures mildly positive

RTGAM

Well, as long as it was fraud and not more subprime shenanigans, who cares?
European investors appear to have shrugged off the revelation by French bank Societe Generale that it has been defrauded of the equivalent of $7.14-billion (U.S.) by an alleged rogue trader.
Key European indexes are still surging ahead in early afternoon trading across the Atlantic, feeding on the startling rebound in U.S. and Canadian equity markets late yesterday, apparently sparked by rumblings that a rescue package may be in the works for bond insurers.
The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50, for instance is up more than 5.6 per cent, Britain's FTSE 100 4 per cent and Germany's DAX more than 5.8 per cent.

As for U.S. stock index futures, they were still pointing towards at least a mildly positive opening shortly after 7.30 a.m. (EST), although they have been slipping from earlier highs.
The March contract based on the Dow Jones industrial average was up 29 points at 12,301 having been 43 points ahead about half an hour earlier, while the S&P 500 contract was up 3.60 points to 1,345.10, down from an earlier gain of 8.20 points. And the Nasdaq 100 March contract was up 8 points at 1,815, down from a 12.25-point gain earlier.

Meanwhile, in developments that could bode well for the resource-heavy Canadian stock market, base metals prices have rallied a little overnight and crude oil, too, has climbed back a little.
At noon GMT, U.S. crude was up $1.43 (U.S.) to $88.42 a barrel, and Brent crude was up $1.46 to $88.08.




Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail

TSX roars back

TSX roars back

RTGAM


A dramatic, sudden move by the U.S. Federal Reserve Tuesday in chopping its key funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to avert a recession sent the Toronto stock market surging and saved New York markets from the mauling experienced on other global indexes on Monday.
The Bank of Canada announced Tuesday that it, too, was cutting rates.

The central bank is cutting its key rate by a quarter-point to 4 per cent to help shield the Canadian economy from what many fear could be a full-blown recession in the U.S.
Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index surged 508.75 points to 12,640.88, led by a runup in the battered financial sector, clawing back most of Monday's staggering 605-point loss.
After a U.S. holiday Monday, New York's Dow Jones industrials came back from an early 457-point deficit, to close down just 128.11 points, or about 1 per cent, to 11,971.19.
That was far better than the 4 to 7 per cent tumbles experienced Monday by global markets.
But analysts cautioned about reading too much into the rate cuts and the effect on stock markets.

"The worry I have is the markets - given their performance in recent weeks and days - are clearly clamouring for, hoping for, an essentially easy and painless path back to asset price growth and general economic vigour," said David Wolf, head of Canadian economics and strategy at Merrill Lynch Canada.

"And I think what we're likely to find is, even if the Fed continues to cut aggressively, that it's simply not going to be enough to avoid recession and to reinvigorate growth in the near term. Even the Fed doesn't have a magic bullet out of this."
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 75.41 points to 2,465.93.
New York's Nasdaq composite index fell 47.75 points to 2,292.27 while the S&P 500 index moved down 14.69 points to 1,310.5. The Canadian Press

Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail