European stock prices rose this morning, following gains in Asian markets and Wall Street, after poor data from the U.S. labor market on Friday bolstered investor hopes for further easing of monetary policy in the U.S.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European stocks strengthened by 0.3 percent to 1,073 points by 9:30 AM, after rising 1.2 percent last week. The Frankfurt DAX, London FTSE, and Paris CAC indices were simultaneously up between 0.2 and 0.3 percent. On Friday, the Dow Jones index on Wall Street broke above the psychologically important level of 11,000 points for the first time in five months, encouraging investors. “Most of the recent data, including Friday’s labor market figures, show that the growth of the U.S. economy is slowing. Therefore, investors expect further quantitative easing of monetary policy in the U.S. and are pricing it into stock prices,” says Richard Lacaille, director at State Street. Among the biggest winners this morning is the banking sector. Shares of BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rose by about 0.5 percent. The Tokyo Stock Exchange was closed today due to a holiday. (H)
