Eur ope stocks rally on US shutdown deal

EUROPEAN shares rose to new highs yesterday after US senators struck a deal to end a three-day government shutdown, while earnings updates were also in focus.

Eurozone stocks reached their highest in a decade, with Germany’s DAX jumping to a fresh record of just over 13,596 points. The DAX ended 0.7pc higher, while the pan-European STOXX 600 closed the session up 0.1pc. The ISEQ closed up 1.1pc.

“As the next goal, the bulls have the hurdle of 14,000 points in mind,” said market analyst Milan Cutkovic at trading house AxiTrader. “With the current mood on the stock markets, this is a realistic scenario for the coming weeks.”

After a previous session fuelled by M&A news, corporate updates maintained the buoyant mood.

Investors cheered plans by Europe’s biggest retailer Carrefour to slash costs, open its loss-making Chinese business to new investors and spend more heavily on ecommerce in the face of competition from Amazon. Carrefour touched a five-month high with a 3.2pc rise. Bernstein analysts said the strategic plan “ticks all the right boxes”.

Shares in computer peripherals and mobile speaker maker Logitech were the biggest gainers, jumping 8pc after it reported better than expected sales and raised its guidance.

Easyjet was another strong riser, up 5.1pc, after reporting first-quarter results.

“A strong performance for new boss Johan Lundgren in his first quarter as easyJet benefited from a combination of Ryanair cancellations and the demise of a trio of peers removing some capacity from the market,” said senior ETX market analyst Neil Wilson.

Sky shares were up 2.3pc after a UK regulator said Fox buying Sky was not in the public interest. (Reuters)