European stocks market closed july 30 2012

European stocks market closed july 30 2012 : European stocks closed sharply higher, after a well-received Italian government bond auction while investors continued to focus on central bank policy meetings later in the week for signs of fresh easing measures.

At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 soared 1.70%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.24%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rallied 1.27%.

Sparking the stock market bulls, Italy witnessed the yield on 10-year bonds fall below 6% for the first time since April at an auction of government debt, indicating that investors now see Italian government debt as a somewhat safer investment.

Risk assets found support last week after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do whatever is necessary to preserve the euro, fueling speculation that the ECB is set to announce fresh policy measures to tackle the long running crisis at its policy meeting on Thursday.

Investors were also looking ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy setting meeting on Wednesday, amid speculation over whether the bank will hint at further easing measures.

Financial stocks remained broadly higher, led by Italian lenders Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, up 5.95% and 4.66%, while France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas also surged 3.56% and 3.31% respectively.

Meanwhile, Germany’s two biggest lenders, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, extended earlier gains, with shares climbing 3.57% and 2.35% respectively.

Among earnings, Air France-KLM Group skyrocketed 14.99% after posting a narrower second-quarter loss, thanks to improved passenger activity and as a restructuring program helped to reduce operating costs.

On the downside, JCDecaux saw shares plunge 11.12%, after the French billboard company said first-half net income fell 13% to EUR82.4 million as organic growth in the second quarter was “slightly lower than expected.”

In London, FTSE 100 surged 1.18%, boosted by strong gains in financial stocks, while industry data showed that an index of realized sales in the U.K. fell more-than-expected in July.

Shares in Barclays surged 2.92% and Lloyds Banking gained 2.57%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings rallied 1.86% and 0.77% respectively.

Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton pushed higher, with shares climbing 1.18% and 1.07%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys jumped 2.65% and 1.65%.

Among earnings, oil and gas major Anglo American dropped 0.32% after saying that underlying operating profit fell 38% on year to USD3.7 billion in the first half of the year, missing analysts' expectations.

Meanwhile, shares in Ryanair Holdings climbed 0.56%, erasing earlier losses posted after the airline company said fiscal first-quarter earnings tumbled due to higher fuel costs.

However in the the U.S., equity markets traded lower midsession with the Dow off 0.03%, the S&P 500 down 0.18% and the tech heavy Nasdaq lower by 0.34%.

Also Monday, official data showed that Spain’s economy contracted 0.4% in the second quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of contraction.

Market watchers are awaiting the U.S. Chicago PMI, consumer confidence, German unemployment and French consumer spending on Tuesday.

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