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LONDON – World stocks advanced Wednesday, with Tokyo’s index up nearly 3 percent, as better-than-expected news about the U.S. and Chinese economies raised hopes the global downturn is stabilizing.
By noon in mainland Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent to 4,182.28, Germany’s DAX added 0.7 percent to 4,406.72 and France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.0 percent to 3,013.24.
Despite the improvements in the data, investors remained cautious ahead of central bank announcements later this week.
“We’re looking ahead to the key rate decisions tomorrow. I think that’s what everyone’s waiting for,” said James Hughes, market analyst at CMC Markets.
Europe’s two major central banks will announce their rate decisions Thursday — the Bank of England is expected to cut aggressively to combat the deepening recession, while the more cautious European Central Bank holds off.
Investors will also be looking ahead to Friday’s publication of U.S. payroll data, with a forecast of the figure due Wednesday by the ADP research organization.
In Asia, the upward swing followed Wall Street, where investors breathed a little easier after a surprise jump in home sales in December suggested the battered housing market might soon stabilize.
Asian investors also were heartened by Wednesday’s report pointing to possible recovery in Chinese manufacturing. While manufacturing shrank again in January, the contraction was less severe than in recent months and seen by some as a sign China’s stimulus measures might be taking hold.
But with the global economy and company results still in dire shape, the move higher was likely to be temporary, analysts cautioned. Amid the hopeful signs came more gloom Wednesday from corporate bellwethers such as Australian mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. and Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp.
“It’s a fictitious rebound. The figures are better than we thought, but they’re still bad,” said Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Vickers in Hong Kong. “It’s encouraging of course, but it’s far too early to say we’re seeing a revival in the global economy.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 2.7 percent to 8,038.94, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 2.3 percent to 13,063.89. South Korea’s Kospi was up 2.8 percent.
In Shanghai, the main index gained 2.3 percent to 2,107.75 as traders welcomed news the purchasing managers index, a key gauge of manufacturing activity, rose to a four-month high.
Elsewhere, markets in Singapore, India and Taiwan also advanced.
In Europe, shares in telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent gained 4.0 percent despite reporting a massive euro3.89 billion loss in the fourth quarter after it took its largest ever charge to write down the value of assets. Hughes said there was “nothing really unexpected” about the writedown.
Shares in pharmaceuticals maker Roche Holding AG plunged 8.2 percent after it said its net income for 2008 fell by 5 percent — missing expectations — because of the strong Swiss franc, falling sales of its anti-flu drug and a drop in income from investments.
Its disappointing results dragged down other pharmaceutical stocks, including Sanofi-Aventis and AstraZeneca, which fell by 1.1 percent and 3.8 percent.
Reinsurer Munich Re AG saw its stock plummet 2.4 percent after it reported a euro100 million ($129 million) profit for the fourth quarter — just a sixth of earnings a year earlier.
Dow Jones industrials futures were up 10 at 7,996, or 0.1 percent, and Standard & Poor’s 500 futures gained 1.8, or 0.2 percent, to 831.50.
In Tokyo, exporters raced ahead on optimism that the worst may be over for the U.S. economy, a vast market for their products. Toyota Motor Corp. jumped 4.5 percent and Honda Motor Co. rallied 6.3 percent.
South Korean carmakers also surged, helped by overnight data showing Hyundai Motor Co. posted a 14 percent increase in U.S. sales in January, one of the few companies to eke out gains in a dreadful auto market. Hyundai shares vaulted 7.6 percent.
Among tech shares Panasonic rose 1 percent in Tokyo despite tumbling to a loss of 63.1 billion yen ($709 million) for the fiscal third quarter.
Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.8 percent to 8,078.36, galvanized by figures showing a key index of pending sales for preowned homes rose 6.3 percent in December from the previous month.
Any sign the U.S. housing market slide is slowing is likely to help sentiment, as many analysts argue the recession in the world’s largest economy won’t end without some improvement in home prices.
Broader stock indicators also rose, with the S&P 500 index up 1.6 percent to 838.51.
In oil, crude prices rose slightly in European trade, with light, sweet crude for March delivery up 62 cents to $41.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract overnight rose 70 cents to settle at $40.78.

Posted by: dorLabonibrabbis | Feb 7 2009 18:34 utc | 104