BCN-12,13 US, European stocks rise on dovish central bank statements

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BCN-12

WORLD-MARKETS

US, European stocks rise on dovish central bank statements

NEW YORK, April 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US and European stocks advanced
Wednesday on dovish central bank announcements as markets eyed a key Brexit
summit in hopes of another extension.

The European Central Bank kept interest rates at historic lows amid
weakening economic forecasts but signaled no additional concrete plans to
spur growth.

ECB president Mario Draghi told reporters in Frankfurt, “right now, it’s
too early to decide” on various forms of aid to banks that could help the
single currency bloc through a persistent soft patch, adding that “it was not
an operational meeting.”

Later, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March 19-20 meeting showed most
policy makers believed the central bank should leave US interest rates
untouched for all of 2019, citing economic risks brewing abroad.

The minutes fleshed out the bank’s decision at the March meeting to remove
a projection of any rate hikes this year. That sentiment was further
buttressed by US data that showed limited consumer inflation in March.

Bourses in New York, Paris and Frankfurt all rose.

The euro retreated against the dollar after Draghi’s remarks but later
advanced following the Fed minutes.

The London stock market lagged behind its eurozone peers at the close as
the pound strengthened, eating into profits of London-listed multinationals
with major earnings in other currencies.

– Brexit extension? –

Sterling benefited from the view that a Brexit delay would reduce the
chances of a “hard” British exit from the European Union, which would be
expected to have dire economic consequences.

The currency shrugged off news that the British economy grew by just 0.2
percent in February from a month earlier.

EU leaders converged on Brussels for a summit with British Prime Minister
Theresa May. Several officials signaled they would indeed be open to pushing
back Brexit for several months if Britain undertakes to hold European
elections in late May.

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WORLD-MARKETS 2 LAST NEW YORK

Without a fresh postponement, Britain is due to end its 46-year membership
of the European Union at midnight on Friday with no deal, risking economic
chaos on both sides of the Channel. May has said she will need until June 30
to ratify the withdrawal agreement.

Among individual companies, Airbus fell 1.7 percent in Paris on the first
day under new chief executive Guillaume Faury, who took over barely a day
after President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on European goods over
subsidies to Airbus.

Large US banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup,
notched modest gains as CEOs from the companies withstood tough questioning
on Capitol Hill.

While the banks were scrutinized over swelling executive pay and limited
progress on appointing women and people of color to top jobs, there was
little talk of meaningful new regulatory steps that could crimp profits.

– Key figures around 2040 GMT –

New York – Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 26,157.16 (close)

New York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 2,888.21 (close)

New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.7 percent at 7,964.24 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,421.91 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.5 percent at 11,905.91 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 5,449.88 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 3,424.65 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 21,687.57 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.1 percent at 30,119.56 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,241.93 (close)

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3091 from $1.3052 at 2100 GMT on Tuesday

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.09 pence from 86.29 pence

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1272 from $1.1263

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 111.00 yen from 111.14 yen

Oil – Brent Crude: UP $1.12 at $71.73 per barrel

Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 63 cents at $64.61 per barrel

BSS/AFP/HR/1000