European stock markets advance despite global angst

European stock markets pushed higher on Thursday, managing to shake off the pessimism around the globe. In London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 0.4% after opening, while the French CAC (^FCHI) gained 0.7% and the DAX (^GDAXI) was 0.6% higher in Germany.

Travel and hospitality shares are among the risers in London, while mining companies are lagging, following a fall in commodity prices. Michael Hewson, chief market analyst for CMC Markets, said: "It's all a big contrast to the optimism of the early summer, when the reopening trade for the northern hemisphere was prompting concern about an economic overheating. "Now there appears to be a distinct chill in the air, with bond yields starting to slip back on the premise that the Fed may well delay its taper."

Across the pond, S&P 500 futures (ES=F) and Dow futures (YM=F) were trading flat, while Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were 0.1% lower as trade began in Europe. The stillness in US equities comes as traders will have their eyes on US retail sales data later in the day. Analysts fear this could show evidence of further setbacks for the US economic recovery, as prices soar and the number of Delta cases continues to spread. Asian shares gave up early gains to fall into the red again overnight, dragged by sharp declines in China and Hong Kong. This was even after a strong lead-in from Wall Street which had also pushed the dollar to the lower end of its recent range. It came a day after economic data in China missed expectations. The Hang Seng (^HSI) fell almost 2% on the day, with property names continuing to decline, while the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) dipped 1.3%. In Japan, the Nikkei (^N225) fell 0.6% after hitting a 31-year high on Monday.

Kyle Rodda of IG said: "The regional issues very much revolve around continued concerns about growth, China's crackdown on its private sector, as well the unfolding collapse Chinese property developer Evergrande group, as talks of some sort of restructuring gather steam, after a suspension in the trading of the company's bonds were announced. "Overall, markets in Asia, and globally at that, remain still in a very angsty environment, with volatility creeping up as calls grow for a perhaps prolonged patch of weak risk sentiment."

Tencent Holdings Ltd. has lost its place among the world's 10 largest companies by market value, leaving no Chinese company in the list as Bejing's regulatory crackdown continues to wreak havoc on the stock market.

Hong Kong-listed shares of the gaming and social media company fell 0.5% Thursday, valuing it at $556 billion. That's just below U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp., data compiled by Bloomberg shows.

This is the first time that a Chinese company isn't among the world's ten largest since 2017, the data show. Tencent's unseating follows that of

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. earlier this year, as China's tech behemoths face tougher rules on everything from monopolistic practices to data security and kids' gaming hours. Tencent has lost about $388 billion in market value since its shares reached a record high in January. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is the world's worst performing major stock benchmark this month amid the clampdown, with Alibaba and Tencent the biggest drags.

There are no signs that the pain will end soon as the regulatory campaign continues to spread and deepen nearly every day. A gauge of Hong Kong-listed tech stocks extended declines to a fourth session Thursday.

In 2019, during a rough patch in ties, Merkel admitted the pair "wrestle with each other" and had "differences in mentality", leading Macron to declare that he believed in "productive confrontation". "They have very different styles," said Alexandre Robinet-Borgomano, an expert on Germany at the French thinktank the Montaigne Institute.

"The chancellor is someone who takes her time, is always looking for compromises, whereas the president is a disruptor, who is prepared to make bold statements about problems he feels are being ignored," he said.

But in the view of many EU watchers, the two have managed to bridge their gap in age and temperament, forming an ultimately effective version of the fabled "Franco-German" locomotive that drives the 27-nation European Union.