European Markets Rallied After Surge In Chinese Market

(RTTNews) - The European markets rallied sharply higher Thursday, following the weak performance of the previous trading day. Investors were encouraged by the sharp rally in China, following the precipitous drop in the nation's equities over the past few days. China's Shanghai Composite index soared 5.3 percent, aided by strong buying in the final 45 minutes of trade, ending the benchmark index's five-day rout.

The Federal Reserve may delay hiking interest rates until at least December. The case for a rate hike in September is "less compelling" given problems with the global economy and plunging stocks, said William Dudley, the president of the New York Fed, on Wednesday.

"From my perspective, at this moment, the decision to begin the normalization process at the September FOMC meeting seems less compelling to me than it was a few weeks ago," he said.

Many of the world's top central bankers are gathering at an annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, today. Investors await further clarity from Fed officials on when they will begin to hike rates.

The euro area is an irreversible project and the talk of Greece leaving the single currency bloc have shaken the confidence in the union, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure said Friday.

"The euro area is an irreversible project, not simply a fixed exchange rate system," Coeure said in a speech in Paris.

"...recent negotiations concerning Greece have let the evil genie of a country exiting the euro area (even temporarily) out of the bottle. The exit of a member country would inevitably lead economic actors to wonder who would be next, with all the potential destabilizing effects that such speculation could entail."

"The genie will not be put back in its bottle once and for all until it is clear that such a risk will not rear its head again," he added.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 3.47 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 3.94 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 3.18 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose by 3.49 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 3.56 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 3.09 percent.

In Frankfurt, Adidas rose by 2.98 percent. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quoted CEO Herbert Hainer as saying that the sporting goods company is not experiencing any slowdown in China.

Healthcare group Fresenius increased by 6.19 percent, after pledging a significant 2015 dividend increase.

In Paris, Bouygues climbed by 4.96 percent, after the conglomerate raised its 2015 profit target for its telecom unit.

Pernod Ricard dropped by 1.72 percent, after its full year net profit decreased 15 percent to 861 million euros from last year's 1.02 billion euros.

In London, Lonmin closed down by 4.18 percent, after the platinum producer announced job cuts to weather depressed commodity prices.

CRH advanced by 4.84 percent. The company reported that its profit before tax for the first half of the year came in at 63 million euros compared to 61 million euros, a year ago. CRH also announced it has reached an agreement to purchase C.R. Laurence Co., Inc. from the Friese family, for a total consideration of US$1.3 billion.

Givaudan gained 0.61 percent in Zurich, after the supplier of fragrances announced its financial ambitions and roadmap for the next five years.

ISS rallied by 5.91 percent in Copenhagen after the business services firm reported an increase in second-quarter profit and raised its full-year guidance for organic revenue growth.

Gemalto plunged by 12.27 percent in Amsterdam. The company stated that the closure of its US mobile payment service Softcard will limit the Mobile segment year on year progress in the second half of the year.

Germany's import prices declined at a faster than expected pace in July, figures from Destatis showed Thursday. The import price index fell 1.7 percent year-over-year in July, faster than June's 1.4 percent decline. Economists had expected the same 1.4 percent drop for the month.

French manufacturing confidence improved unexpectedly in August, figures from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. The manufacturing confidence index rose to 103 in August from 102 in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to remain stable at 102. In June, the reading was 100.

U.K. house price inflation eased to its lowest level in more than two years in August, but construction activity should increase to keep pace with demand, the Nationwide Building Society said Thursday.

House prices rose 3.2 percent year-on-year in August, slower than the 3.5 percent increase seen in July, data showed. Nonetheless, it was faster than the expected 3.1 percent increase. The annual rate of price growth was the weakest since June 2013, when it rose 1.9 percent.

Economic activity in the U.S. increased by much more than previously estimated in the second quarter of 2015, the Commerce Department revealed in a report on Thursday. The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product increased by 3.7 percent in the second quarter compared to the previously reported 2.3 percent growth.

With the upward revision, the pace of GDP growth in the second quarter was even stronger than the 3.2 percent jump expected by economists.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits decreased modestly in the week ended August 22nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 271,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 277,000. Economists had expected claims to dip to 270,000.

While the National Association of Realtors released a report on Thursday showing pending home sales in the U.S. rose for the sixth time in seven months in July, the pace of growth fell short of economist estimates.

NAR said its pending home sales index rose 0.5 percent to 110.9 in July from an upwardly revised 110.4 in June. Economists had been expecting the index to climb by 1.0 percent.