Business

Asian, European stocks surge on hope for economic recovery

29 Mar 2021

Picture used for illustrative purpose.File

Gulf Today Report

Asian stocks rose on Monday due to government stimulus and rollout of coronavirus vaccines encouraging investors.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 3,443.55 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 1.1% to 29,484.57. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.3% to 28,437.46.

The Kospi in Seoul was up less than 0.1% at 3,043.55 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 6,808.20. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets advanced.

Vaccines and stimulus have "helped to create an aura of high optimism,” John Bilton of JP Morgan Asset Management said in a report. He said "above-trend global growth” should last into 2022 and regions such as Europe that are at "peak pessimism” due to vaccine delays should accelerate later this year.

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European stocks

European stocks surged on Monday on hope for a global economic recovery while Credit Suisse tumbled following a warning of "significant" losses from exiting positions after a US-based hedge fund defaulted on margin calls.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3%, tracking gains in Asia as investors grew confident about a strong global economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, led by the United States.

The Swiss bank declined by 9.5% following a default by unnamed hedge fund on margin calls by Credit Suisse and other banks in the previous week.

The export-heavy German DAX rose 0.6% to an all-time high as data over the weekend showed annual profits at China's industrial firms surged in the first two months of 2021, highlighting a rebound in the country's manufacturing sector.