Corporate profits revive European and Japanese stocks

European shares rose on Wednesday, after positive business results from food and beverage companies, but concerns about the war in Ukraine, slowing growth and rising revenues limited gains.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5%, with the banking and food and beverage sectors gaining 1.3% each.
Meanwhile, mining stocks fell 0.8% and oil stocks fell 0.5%.
Danone jumped 7.2% after the French food group posted stronger-than-expected sales growth in the first quarter of the year and kept its 2022 targets.
Heineken NV shares rose 3.3% after the company achieved a sharp rise in sales in the first quarter.
Credit Suisse shares fell 1.9% after the Swiss bank said it expected a net loss in the first quarter and the larger negative effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Japanese
Japanese stocks rose, on Wednesday, for the second session in a row, as shares of technology heavyweights tracked the gains made by “Wall Street” last night, while the recent decline in the yen helped support the shares of automakers.
The Nikkei index closed up 0.86% to 27217.85 points, while the broader Topix index closed up 1.03% to 1915.15 points.
“U.S. Treasury yields were rising, so investors couldn’t buy growth stocks impulsively,” said Hideyuki Suzuki, general manager of investment research at SBI Securities.
Shares of Fast Retailing, owner of clothing stores Unilco, provided the biggest boost to Nikkei, rising 2.5%, followed by SoftBank Group, which invests in technology, with a 1.44% advance.
Shares of auto and auto parts companies led the gains in the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 sub-sector indices, which jumped 3.39% after the yen fell to its lowest level against the dollar in 20 years.
Toyota Motor share jumped 3.74% and was the biggest supporter of the Topix index. Honda Motor shares rose 3.59%.
Chip-related heavyweight Tokyo Electron lost 1.25%, and Advantest fell 1.29%.
181 stocks advanced on the Nikkei index, compared to 40 losers.
(Archyde.com)