Global investors moved out of safe havens yesterday and returned to stocks and the dollar as the absence of major setbacks for US-led forces in Iraq elicited cautious optimism in financial markets.
Discounting fresh evidence from the US manufacturing sector that the war is hurting global demand, dealers bought stocks and helped markets to turn positive after days of losses.
In the oil markets, prices eased after a general strike in Nigeria that had crimped production was called off. As the market grew more comfortable with the possibility of a longer war, the dollar reversed Monday's decline.
European stock markets returned to positive territory after four days in the red, but market experts were at best guarded about the outlook for shares because of uncertainty about the war's duration.
The FTSE Eurotop 300 Index jumped 1.43 per cent, while the euro-zone DJ Euro Stoxx 50 was up 1.49 per cent.
In Dublin, the stock market added 0.8 per cent, helped by strong performances from CRH and AIB, which gained 1.5 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively. Among other stocks, however, the share price performance was mixed.
On Wall Street, meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained just under 1 per cent and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 1.21 per cent. The technology-led Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.53 per cent.
With Wall Street higher, demand for the US currency quickened. The euro slipped to new session lows against the dollar at $1.0882, down 0.36 per cent. - (Reuters)
