Stock market fixing:
Nikkei +127.15 +1.00% 12,887.95
Topix +14.37 +1.2% 1 263.65
CAC +113.54 +2.76% 4,225.99
FTSE +135.70 +2.63% 5,286.30
DAX +115.90 +1.88% 6,271.27
Dow +207.38 +1.85% 11,446.66
NASDAQ +27.45 +1.20% 2,312.30
S&P +14.96 +1.20% 1,260.32
10yr Note +1.0400 +0.264% 4.038%
NYMEX Crude Oil -5.31 -3.95% 129.29
Gold +8.00 +0.83% 970.70
Japanese stocks rose, snapping a four-day drop by the Topix index, as concerns eased that credit losses will continue to plague banks and cause capital shortages.
Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan's third-biggest bank by market value, rose to the highest in a month while Orix Corp., the nation's biggest leasing company, surged. Brokerage Nomura Holdings Inc. climbed the most in almost three months.
Mizuho rose 4.6%, the highest level since June 20, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. gained 3%. Orix jumped 5%.
Nomura climbed 5%, the most since April 28. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. surged 5% after the Nikkei newspaper said it will form an alliance with Brazil's Banco Itau.
Inpex Holdings Inc. lost 0.9%. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. declined 2.2%.
Denso Corp. lost 2.5%, making it the second-biggest loser on the Nikkei. Its shares were cut to ``hold'' at Nikko Citigroup Ltd. due to a forecast for slower production growth by its main customer, Toyota Motor Corp.
European stocks surged the most in three months after Nokia Oyj and JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported earnings that beat analysts' estimates, easing concern a slowing economy and credit losses will stifle profit growth.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc led banking shares to their biggest gain since March. Nokia climbed to a six-week high as the world's biggest maker of mobile phones raised its forecast for industry sales. CRH Plc rallied 9.2% as a report showed U.S. housing starts unexpectedly rose in June.
Royal Bank climbed 8.8%. UBS AG jumped 7.9%. BNP Paribas SA rose 6.7%.
Allied Irish Banks increased 13%, the most since 1989. Bank of Ireland Plc added 10%.
Swedbank AB surged 9.6% after reporting earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
Nokia rose 7.9%. The company reported second-quarter earnings of 37 cents a share, excluding costs, and sales of 13.2 billion euros ($21 billion). Analysts had predicted 36 cents on sales of 12.8 billion euros. The company raised its forecast for industry sales on higher demand in markets including Russia and India.
Stocks on Wall Street rallied Thursday.
Housing starts and permits both rose unexpectedly, but that was because of a jump in apartment construction due to a change in New York City building rules. Starts of single-family homes fell to a 17-year low.
Initial jobless claims rose, but was still much lower than forecast.
Banks Investors are keeping a close eye on financial shares as earnings in the bank sector keep trickling in.
JPMorgan Chase reported a 52% decline in net income Thursday, but earnings topped expectations. JPMorgan posted a profit of $2 billion, or 54 cents per share.
The earnings continues with tech heavyweights Google, Microsoft and IBM scheduled to release their results after the market close.
Online auction site eBay reported a jump in quarterly profit late Wednesday, but offered a weak outlook for the current period.
Two Dow components, Coca-Cola and United Technologies, also both topped forecasts with their results. Coke reported a rise in earnings excluding items, although a writedown related to its bottler resulted in a drop in net income. Diversified manufacturer United Technologies reported improved earnings and revenue.