European stocks recover as oil surges

LONDON: European stock markets recovered Tuesday on easing political unrest in Germany, but shares in Swiss miner Glencore melted on news of a US legal probe over its global activities.

The US benchmark crude oil contract WTI surged above $75 for the first time in more than three years amid supply issues surrounding Iran and Libya, dealers said.

Europe’s benchmark indices were up by around a percent or more on the day in mid-afternoon, while US stocks showed more modest gains shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street.

“European markets are in rebound mode… as an apparent resolution to the German political impasse has helped dispel much of the trade war anxiety that was evident throughout Asia,” noted Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG trading group.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has survived a bruising challenge to her authority with a compromise deal on immigration.

– ‘Merkel is safe’ –

In high-stakes crisis talks overnight, Merkel had put to rest a dangerous row with her hardline Interior Minister Horst Seehofer that had threatened the survival of her fragile coalition government.

“News that Merkel is safe and the fragile German coalition will live to see another day has encouraged traders back into the Dax, which had been suffering at the hands of investor anxiety about new snap elections,” said London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler.

London slightly underperformed as gains in the top UK index were stemmed by a plunge in the value of Glencore, which was down a hefty four percent at 335 pence, having earlier fallen as far as 303 after saying it was being probed by US authorities over its activities in Nigeria, Venezuela and DR Congo.

Earlier, Asian stock markets ended mixed, with investors awaiting US-China tariff announcements in the latest trade war developments.

The yuan extended losses and has fallen around eight percent since the end of March to an 11-month low, as China struggles to cap a debt mountain while supporting growth.

– ‘Tight’ oil supplies –

Analysts dismissed some claims that authorities are allowing the Chinese currency to weaken to offset the impact of any tariffs.

“We have already seen the impact on Chinese investors’ anxiety over a weaker currency and subsequent capital outflow in 2015-16,” said Tai Hui, JP Morgan Asset Management chief market strategist for Asia-Pacific.

“This is not a can of worms that Beijing wants to open again.”

Oil prices rallied, a day after taking a hit when US President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia had agreed to his request to ramp up crude output.

“The market remains supported by a production outage in Libya and… data which suggest US supplies are running very tight,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA.

Oil prices are now at their highest level seen since November 2014.

– Key figures around 1335 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 7,617.70 points

Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 1.2 percent at 12,383.53

Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 5,327.55

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.1 percent at 3,405.85

New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 24,428.02

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 21,785.54 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 1.4 percent at 28,545.57 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 2,786.89 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1646 from $1.1642 at 2100 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3167 from $1.3143