European, US Equities Rise On Eve Of ECB Meet

NEW YORK,(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st july,2016) - Eurozone stock markets moved higher Wednesday as investors hoped for hints of extra stimulus from the European Central Bank, while a clutch of US company earnings boosted US stocks. The ECB is not expected to announce new stimulus measures Thursday, but chief Mario Draghi "is likely to indicate the ECB is willing to 'do what it takes' if Brexit interrupts the fragile European economic recovery," said CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler. The ECB meeting comes two days after the International Monetary Fund slashed its global economic forecast, citing the uncertainty created by Britain's vote to leave the European Union. France's CAC 40 rallied to close 1.2 percent up, while Germany's DAX was 1.6 percent firmer. US stocks were also upward bound, with the Dow and S&P 500 both closing at fresh records, while the tech-rich Nasdaq jumped 1.

1 percent. "Earnings have certainly come in better than expected for a broad number of Names," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, said of Wall Street's performance. Investors have been encouraged by the outlooks of many companies that have reported, said Gregori Volokhine, president Meeschaert Capital Markets. "It's not only that the results are good, but companies are expressing confidence in their outlook," he said. London shares also closed higher, as dealers digested news that Britain's unemployment rate fell to an 11-year low of 4.9 percent in the three months to May, ahead of the shock vote to exit the EU. But Japanese stocks finished down 0.3 percent, ending a six-day winning streak as Nintendo plunged almost 13 percent in profit-taking after sustaining big gains due to the globally popular Pokemon Go video game.