European equities boosted on Wednesday, with bond yields also rising. Remarkably, investors continued to push a recovery from an early-week loss.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index climbed about 1.4% to 452.72. It it down 0.4% for the week so far that has involved big swings after Wall Street’s Monday decline. The French CAC 40 surged 1.6% to 6,513.46, the German DAX rose 1% to 15,549.73. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index increased by about 1.6% to 7,016.71.
U.S. stocks were also rising. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.83% to 34,798. The S&P 500 rose by 0.82% to 4,358.69, while the Nasdaq Composite index boosted 0.92% to 14,631.95. As we know, investors resumed buying beaten-down stocks following Monday’s steep slumps.
Additionally, the early-week declines were driven by investor worries over the potential economic damage from a new wave of COVID-19 infections. Highly contagious delta infections are increasing, which have largely been hitting the unvaccinated.
According to a study released on Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot coronavirus vaccine may be much less effective against the highly infectious delta strain. A Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman reported that data from the latest study do not speak to the full nature of immune protection.
Moreover, bond yields continued to grow, with that of the 10-year Treasury note up 6 basis points to 1.26%. The yield on the 10-year German bund rose by about 1 basis points to -0.401%.
ASML Holding published higher Q2 net profit, while SAP reported lower operating profit and revenue
Additionally, shares of heavily weight ASML Holding gained 3% after the Dutch semiconductor equipment company published higher second-quarter net profit. Remarkably, that lifted full-year guidance for revenue growth. The firm also launched a share-buyback program of $10.60 billion until the end of 2023.
Moreover, shares of SAP declined by more than 4% after the German software maker reported lower operating profit and revenue in Q2 of 2021. It lifted its targets for the year.
Daimler’s shares also dropped after the German automobile maker confirmed revenue and earnings guidance for 2021. However, the firm announced a global semiconductor shortage will continue to affect its business hit car sales in 2021.
Akzo Nobel’s net profit more than doubled in the second quarter of the year. Its revenue surged 26%. Remarkably, the Dutch paints company reiterated expectations to increase at least in line with its relevant markets this year.
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