European Stocks Climb as Siemens, Chemical Makers Lead Advance
Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks gained on the first trading day this year, following the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s first annual loss since 2008, as gauges of carmakers and chemical producers advanced. Asian shares fell.
Siemens AG increased 1.2 percent for the biggest contribution to the Stoxx 600’s advance.
The Stoxx 600 rose 0.2 percent to 245.11 at 9:03 a.m. in London. The U.S. and U.K. markets are closed today for the New Year’s holiday. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index didn’t trade, while the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index slipped 0.3 percent.
“On the first day of the year, a lot of investors, having cleaned their portfolios, have liquidity to invest,” said Arnaud Scarpaci, a fund manager at Agilis Gestion SA in Paris, which oversees about $84 million. “Germany can be seen as a safe haven because it has stronger growth than other countries. People are investing in industries with a lot of visibility, such as utilities.”
European stocks climbed in the last week of 2011 as reports from the U.S. showed the recovery in the world’s largest economy is gathering pace and as optimism grew that euro-area policy makers will contain the debt crisis. The second straight week of gains helped trim last year’s loss to 11 percent.
The index entered a bear market in August and had its worst third quarter since 2002, dropping 17 percent, as U.S. leaders wrangled over cutting the deficit and euro-area policy makers remained divided on their response to the debt crisis.
Euro-Area Debt
Some 157 billion euros ($203 billion) in debt will mature in the 17-member euro area in the first three months of 2012, according to UBS AG. National leaders have pledged to draft a stricter rulebook for controlling government spending. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet in Berlin on Jan. 9 to work out the details.
In her New Year’s address, Merkel said she expects turbulence in 2012 as she does “everything” to save the euro and end the sovereign-debt crisis. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said in his New Year’s message that the country faces a difficult year and must continue efforts to stay in the euro.
In the U.S., the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was virtually unchanged for the year. The benchmark gauge lost 0.04 points to 1,257.6 in 2011, its smallest annual change since 1947.
National benchmark indexes advanced in 10 of the 14 western European markets that opened today. Germany’s DAX Index added 1 percent. France’s CAC 40 Index gained 0.4 percent.
A report this week will probably show that hiring in the U.S. accelerated in December for a second month, a sign that the country’s improving labor market will bolster consumer spending in early 2012, economists said. Payrolls climbed by 150,000 workers after rising 120,000 in November, according to the median forecast of 62 economists in a Bloomberg News survey before the Labor Department release on Jan. 6.
Another report this week may show manufacturing picked up in the U.S., economists said.
