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European stocks rally as Barclays profits surge (AFP)
traded higher in the wake of bumper earnings from Barclays, which helped to offset lingering uncertainty over Greece's debt, traders said.
was up 0.81 percent at 5,209.26 points in late morning trade.
Frankfurt DAX 30 increased 0.80 percent to 5,555.23 points and in Paris the
added 0.51 percent to 3,627.56 nearing the half-way mark.
of top eurozone shares grew 0.50 percent in value to reach 2,697.15 points.
“has boosted the whole banking sector,” said Arifa Sheikh-Usmani, equity trader at British firm Spreadex.
British bank Barclays said on Tuesday that net profits had more than doubled to almost 9.4 billion pounds in 2009, largely thanks to the sale of its
(BGI) unit.
, which had bought some of failed US bank
.
“With or without the sale of BGI, the figures are extremely impressive,” said Richard Hunter, head of British equities at
.
“The performance of Barclays Capital was a core contributor to the profit numbers, whilst the impairment levels appear to be under control.”
of Barclays jumped 6.89 percent to 293.95 pence in London, helping to drag its peers higher. And German and French banks also profited from the results, with
up 2.84 percent to 45.4 euros and
gaining 3.03 percent to 40.41 euros.
Meanwhile investors were tracking developments in the Greek debt saga.
On Monday, Greece's fellow eurozone members gave Athens 30 days to slash its national spending to the bone.
Amid doubts that already stringent emergency action barely papers over the cracks, radical new cost-cutting and tax-raising measures are set to be imposed under newly-agreed
voting rules.
However trader Sheikh-Usmani said markets were still awaiting “concrete strategies” for Greece. “As long as that remains the case we may see more selling pressure on these small rallies,” she added.
's benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed up 0.21 percent on Tuesday, while across Asia trading was quiet with many markets shut for the Lunar New Year.
was due to reopen on Tuesday after shutting a day earlier owing to the Presidents' Day national holiday in the United States.