Business

European shares rise, Asian shares mix on optimism for global recovery

18 Feb 2021

Picture used for illustrative purpose. File

Gulf Today Report

European shares jumped on Thursday due to gains in mining stocks helping to outweigh the decline in Airbus and Orange.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2% by 08:15 GMT, with miners jumping 2.0% on Thursday, their highest in almost a decade.

Airbus posted its annual loss, it declined by 3.1% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. France’s telecoms group, Orange recorded 4.3% lost.

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Asian shares

Asian markets mixed on Thursday on concerns surrounding inflation which may affect optimism for global recovery.

Shanghai advanced after reopening following the Lunar New Year holiday. Shares fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul.

The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6% to 3,678.11 and the S&P/ASX 200 was flat, at 6,885.90. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.2% to 30,236.09, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 1.2% to 30,725.47. In South Korea, the Kospi gave up 1.5% to 3,086.66.

Vast amount of government spending has led to expectations of a surge in inflation and a spike in US Treasury yields to around one-year highs, sparking worries of higher borrowing costs down the line.

And it is these fears, along with warnings equities may have run ahead of themselves, that are playing on investors' minds.