European shares continued to trade in a tight range as the FTSEurofirst 300 index lingered around 22-month highs, with positive earnings from the likes of Unilever and Novartis offsetting worries about telecoms.
Europe’s top shares were flat at 1,165.45. The index, however, has traded in little more than a 10-point range since January 3, while the Germany’s DAX and the euro zone’s blue chip Euro STOXX 50 index have been stuck in a 40-point range.
For the DAX that means highs last seen back in 2008, which are about 4 percent away, but Grisse said the Euro STOXX 50 will struggle to see 2010 highs, pegged by its weighting towards the region’s indebted banks and their exposure to the zone’s debt crisis.
The Nikkei average fell a third straight day, reaching a three-week closing low today after the Bank of Japan’s easing steps fell short of expectations, triggering profit-taking in shares bought in anticipation of the central bank decision.
The Nikkei dropped 2.1 percent to 10,486.99, logging its biggest one-day percentage fall in a week. Today’s retreat took the index further from its 32-month high of 10,952.31 on January 15.
The broader Topix dropped 1.5 percent to 887.79 in relatively thin trade, with 3.38 billion shares changing hands, slightly lower trading volume than last week’s daily average of 3.73 billion shares.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald