LONDON, May 19: European stock exchanges in Britain, France and Germany nudged higher on Friday, following heavy losses this week, and after Wall Street sank overnight on persistent inflation worries.
Global share prices have been slammed this week by investor concerns over rising inflation, uncertainty over interest rates and a weak US dollar.
Prior to this week’s turbulence, European stock exchanges had traded close to recent five-year peaks against a backdrop of positive economic data, company results and merger and acquisition news.
In European trading on Friday, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.31 per cent to 5,689.30 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 increased 0.16 per cent to 5,674.88 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index added 0.36 per cent to 4,926.52.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares gained 0.22 per cent to 3,614.41 points.
The euro stood at 1.2778 dollars.
US stocks had ended sharply lower on Thursday as a rebound attempt from a heavy sell-off in the prior session faltered and inflation jitters were heightened by comments from a Federal Reserve official.
Japanese share prices closed slightly higher on Friday, reversing early losses after a weakening of the yen encouraged bargain hunters to snap up stocks from their 10-week lows, dealers said.
In London trading on Friday, British Airways saw its share price soar by 6.56 per cent to 341 pence.
The carrier announced it had increased net profit in its 2005-2006 financial year by 19.1 per cent to 467 million pounds (689.5 million euros, 883 million dollars).
Back on Wall Street on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average — which saw its biggest single-day point drop in three years in the prior session — fell another 0.69 per cent to close at 11,128.29 points.
The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.70 per cent to close at 2,180.32 points while the broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index dropped 0.67 per cent to 1,261.81 points.
On Wednesday, the sell-off had accelerated after a stronger-than-expected rise in retail inflation in April raised the odds of further US interest rate rises.
In Asia on Friday, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index finished 0.42 per cent higher at 16,155.45 points.
It was only the second trading day in nine that the index has closed higher, with investors nervous about the impact on exporter profits of the firmer yen and what direction US interest rates will take.
Hong Kong’s key Hang Seng index closed 0.29 per cent higher at 16,313.36 points as investors covered short positions after Thursday’s sell-off, dealers said.—AFP