European
stocks advanced for a second day, pushing the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to
its highest level since July 2007, as the European Central Bank
committed to begin asset purchases on March 9.
The
Stoxx 600 rose 0.8 percent to 393.78 at the close of trading. The gauge
has rallied 15 percent this year after the ECB said it would start a
quantitative-easing program. At the same time, economic data are topping
forecasts by the most in two years, according to Citigroup Inc.’s
Surprise Index.
The
ECB kept interest rates unchanged at record lows today. The central
bank will begin asset purchases next week, including some debt with
negative yields, amounting to 60 billion euros ($66 billion) a month,
President Mario Draghi told reporters in Nicosia, Cyprus. He also
unveiled forecasts showing higher economic growth with an inflation
outlook that puts the ECB on track to reach its goal of just below 2
percent in 2017.
Germany’s
DAX Index rose 1 percent to a record close. Portugal’s PSI 20 Index
jumped 1.7 percent, for the best performance of 18 western-European
markets. The volume of Stoxx 600 shares changing hands was 8.7 percent
lower than the 30-day average.
Source: Bloomberg
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