European stock markets rose today after the White House suggested the US economy had pulled back from the brink following a key US unemployment report that showed the number of job losses slowed in July.
London's FT 100 gained 0.9% to close at 4,732 points, the CAC in Paris rallied 1.2% to 3,521 points and Frankfurt’s DAX jumped 1.7% to 5,459. Telecoms were among the best performers, with Vodafone, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom all up between 2.6% and 4%. Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland slumped 12.9% after it reported a £1 billion loss in the first-half of the year, hit by £7.5 billion of bad debts.
US stocks were ahead after a much-awaited July jobs report was better than expected, signalling a likely turnaround in the long and painful recession.
The Dow Jones gained 1.4% to 9,387 by 5.20pm, while the Nasdaq leapt 1.6% to 2,004. Investors welcomed the US Labor Department's report showing the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 9.4% in July as job losses in the month narrowed to 247,000.
In Dublin, the ISEQ index of Irish shares reversed early losses to finish 0.6% higher at 2,881. Building stocks were mixed, with Abbey up 27 cent to €4.25, while Grafton lost eight to €3.25. Bank of Ireland also fared well, finishing nine cent higher at €2.10.
In Asia earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei inched up 0.2% to 10,412, its highest close in ten months.
