World stocks rally on record HSBC rights issue

Global stocks marched upwards on Monday when sentiment was boosted by pre-weekend gains on Wall Street and record demand for HSBC bank’s historic rights issue, dealers said.
In early trading, the London market added 1.49 per cent, Frankfurt won 1.54 per cent, Paris advanced 1.57 per cent and Madrid increased by 2.15 per cent.
Europe raced ahead after a string of gains across Asia, with Tokyo up 1.24 per cent and Hong Kong adding 3.11 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei stock index struck a fresh three-month high, boosted by pre-weekend US gains and a weaker yen, which is good for exporters.
Over the weekend, Europe’s biggest bank announced a 96.6 per cent take-up for its record 17.7-billion-dollar (13-billion-euro) rights issue which was launched last month after a plunge in profits.
In London on Monday, HSBC shares leapt 6.16 per cent to 461.25 pence as investors welcomed the news.
HSBC, which has refused British government financial assistance in contrast to rivals such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, had reported a 70 per cent plunge in annual net profits last month.
Before the weekend, New York stocks had shrugged off a dismal March jobs report to end higher Friday, capping their fourth weekly gain amid market expectations that the economic contraction is easing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.50 per cent at 8,017.59, closing above the psychological 8,000 level for the first time since February 9.
The market in Sydney gained 0.56 per cent and Taipei closed up 0.48 per cent.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index surged to finish at 8,857.93 points — which was the highest close since January 8.

The New Age