European stocks rebound as fed minutes spur low rate apeculation
By Bloomberg
European stocks rallied, rebounding from a two-month low, on speculation that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero amid concerns about slower global growth. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also rose.
Norsk Hydro ASA climbed 4 percent after U.S. peer Alcoa Inc. reported its highest earnings in three years. Solvay SA advanced 2 percent after confirming its profit-growth target for 2014. Randgold Resources Ltd. led a rally in commodity producers as Numis Securities Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc recommended buying the shares. Suedzucker AG slumped to its lowest price in more than five years after saying that third-quarter operating profit will be lower than last year.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.8 percent to 330.73 at 10:04 a.m. in London, with all 19 industry groups on the gauge rising. The measure slid 2.4 percent in the past two days as the International Monetary Fund cut its forecasts for global growth, and data showed German industrial production contracted the most in more than five years.
"The Fed is clearly more dovish than we expected," said Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, a strategist at Deutsche Postbank AG in Bonn. "The minutes have increased speculation that the market will have more time until it faces a rate hike from the Fed. It's positive to see that they are assessing risks to global growth, and that it's not all about the U.S. job market. Taking this into account shows the Fed is in no hurry to lift rates and is not overly positive on the economic outlook."
Europe's equity gauge lost 6.2 percent through yesterday since reaching its highest level in more than six years in June. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures added 0.2 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 0.6 percent.
Fed Minutes
Minutes from the Fed's Sept 16-17 meeting showed a number of policy makers said U.S. gross domestic product expansion "might be slower than they expected if foreign economic growth came in weaker than anticipated." Officials renewed their pledge in September to keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time" after ending bond purchases as early as this month. The benchmark federal funds rate has been in a range of zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008.
Labor Department data at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show the number of Americans who filed applications for unemployment benefits rose to 295,000 last week from 287,000 the previous period, economists projected.
In the U.K., the Bank of England will probably leave its official bank rate and asset-purchase target unchanged, economists projected before the decision at noon in London.
The number of shares traded in Stoxx 600-listed companies was 24 percent higher than the average of the past 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian aluminum producer that reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 22, rose 4 percent to 34.58 kroner. Alcoa, the largest U.S. maker of the metal, posted profit and sales that beat analysts' estimates late yesterday.
Solvay climbed 2 percent to 115.50 euros. The Belgian chemical maker forecast high single-digit percentage profit growth. Solvay also restated its results for 2013 and the first six months of 2014 to take into account the sale of its sulfuric-acid unit Eco Services.
Randgold climbed 7.2 percent to 4,341 pence and Fresnillo Plc jumped 6.1 percent to 767.5 pence as Numis named them top picks, citing their growth profiles, asset quality and strong management. Gold, often used as a hedge against inflation, rallied and the dollar slumped after the Fed minutes. A gauge of metals and commodity stocks rose the most on the Stoxx 600.
Hays Plc added 5.6 percent to 124.8 pence. The British professional-recruitment agency reported a 4 percent increase in net fees for the first quarter, led by the U.K. and Ireland.
Suedzucker fell 8.7 percent to 10.72 euros as it reported a 73 percent decline in second-quarter operating profit. The company said that reaching its target for annual profit of 200 million euros ($255 million) has become more difficult because of weaker sugar and ethanol markets in Europe.
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