Stocks rise but LVMH tiff takes Tiffany down

London (AFP) – Markets rose on both sides of the Atlantic on Wednesday, brushing aside falls in Asia and an overnight rout on Wall Street, but US jeweller Tiffany slumped on news its buyout by France’s LVMH was off.

Wall Street bounced back from a three-day rout mid-session as the Dow added almost two percent while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped nearly three percent after recent sessions had trashed tech.

Tiffany shares swiftly sank 10.5 percent before creeping back after French luxury group LVMH said it was withdrawing from a $16.2 billion acquisition which would have been the biggest ever in the luxury industry. It  blamed arguments over deal-closing deadlines and threatened US taxes on French goods.

At the close in Europe, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 gained 1.4 percent, helped by the struggling pound which boosts earnings for multinationals trading on the index.

“Stock markets are back in rally mode as investors look to get back to their ‘buy the dip’ ways that proved so successful over the past few month,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

Shares in British drugs group AstraZeneca limited losses to 0.5 percent after the company “voluntarily paused” a randomised clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine, in what it called a routine action after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.

The company, which is developing the drug alongside the University of Oxford, is a frontrunner in the global race for a Covid-19 vaccine.

Sterling continued its retreat on fears Britain will fail to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union as the euro barrelled still higher to 91.09 pence to the pound before settling back below the 91 pence mark. Sterling also struck a six-week low against the dollar at $1.2919.

Oil prices rebounded slightly, meanwhile, from recent sharp losses.

“European stocks and US index futures have recovered… following a big drop on Wall Street the day before, where technology shares were hammered on valuation concerns,” noted Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at ThinkMarkets.

“There has been no obvious trigger behind the rebound and it remains to be seen whether the recovery will hold once the US session gets underway.”

Razaqzada said hopes of further stimulus from the European Central Bank could be helping eurozone indices.

– Tech ticks up –

Tech giants including Apple, Microsoft and Tesla had led Tuesday losses to bring the Nasdaq’s succession of record highs to a juddering halt — but analysts said Wednesday the latest selling was broadening out.

Tesla, which on Tuesday collapsed 21 percent — its worst day on record — was up six percent mid-session.

Asian stocks lost ground, with Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, Manila and Wellington all losing more than one percent.

Oil prices meanwhile looked up after suffering on Tuesday their heaviest losses since the early days of the pandemic and pulled off week lows.

The commodity had retreated on concerns about demand as the global recovery stutters and after the US summer holidays — when people traditionally take to the road — came to an end.

There are fears OPEC will begin picking up production soon, after an output cut put in place to support the market earlier in the year.

– Key figures around 1400 GMT –

New York – Dow: UP 1.9 percent at 28,038.78 points

London – FTSE 100: UP 1.4 percent at 6,012.84 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 2.1 percent at 13,237.21 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.4 percent at 5,042.98 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.9 percent at 3,331.31

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 23,032.54 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.6 percent at 24,468.93 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.9 percent at 3,254.63 (close)

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3009 from $1.2981 at 2050 GMT

Euro/pound: UP at 90.83 pence from 90.70 pence

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1817 from $1.1775

Dollar/yen: UP at 106.25 yen from 106.00 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.2 percent at $37.98 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.9 percent at $40.77 per barrel