On 21 September, 2015 – European markets advanced following the Greek election results

Stocks in Europe and the US advanced while those in the Asia Pacific region were mixed as investors continued to react to the FOMC statement last Thursday. FedSpeak calmed some nerves however.
United States
Stocks advanced Monday as investors tried to look beyond the uncertain timing of a possible interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones industrials were up 0.8%, the S&P added 0.5% and the Nasdaq was virtually unchanged (up 1.73 points).
Drug makers slumped on concern of new regulations for the industry following comments from Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton who said she would soon outline a proposal for controlling prescription drug costs. Biogen, a maker of specialty drugs, dropped. Atmel jumped after accepting a bid from Britain’s Dialog Semiconductor. Major banks rose after retreating on Friday. Those declines were caused by fears that the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates at historical lows would make it difficult for banks to charge their customers more to borrow. Lennar gained after its fiscal third quarter results beat estimates. The company delivered more homes and experienced a rise in new orders because of an improving housing market. United States-traded shares of Volkswagen tumbled after allegations that the German carmaker rigged American emissions tests for about 500,000 diesel cars.
Four Fed officials separately said the US economy is strong enough to withstand an increase this year. Their remarks suggested continued improvement in the domestic economy may overshadow concerns about global conditions. They contended that any threat from abroad is temporary, providing an antidote to Chair Janet Yellen’s warning last week that global financial-market turmoil could harm growth.
Gold at the afternoon London fixing was down US$8.25 to US$1,133.25. Copper futures were up 0.1% to US$2.39. WTI spot crude was up US$1.67 to US$46.35. Dated Brent spot crude was up US$1.31 to US$48.78. The US dollar was up against all of its major counterparts including the euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc and the Canadian and Australian dollars. The Dollar Index was up 1.0%. The yield on US Treasury 30 year bond and 10 year note were both up 7 basis points to 3.01% and 2.20% respectively.
Europe
Stocks advanced from the weakness at the end of the previous week on bargain hunting and on investor relief after the outcome of the Greek election over the weekend. The weakness at the end of the prior week was due to concerns over the health of the global economy after the US Federal Reserve refrained from increasing interest rates. The FTSE edged up 0.1%, the CAC climbed 1.1%, the DAX added 0.3% and the SMI was 0.5% higher.
Greece’s Syriza party won over 35% of votes in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, with party chief Alexis Tsipras claiming that Syriza has a clear mandate. Although Syriza failed to reach 38% of the vote generally seen as needed for a clear majority in the 300-seat parliament, it said it will form a coalition with the nationalist Independent Greeks. The Greek people had to go to the polls for a fifth time in six years after Tsipras quit in the wake of dissent from within his party over the signing of an unpopular bailout deal with its international creditors.
Volkswagen sank after it being accused by the US government of installing software to defeat emissions controls on nearly half a million diesel vehicles sold in the US since 2008. Porsche also plunged. Daimler and BMW retreated along with Renault and Peugeot. Deutsche Wohnen intends to make a voluntary public tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of LEG Immobilien, valuing the equity of LEG Immobilien at €4.6 billion. While Deutsche Wohnen declined, Leg Immobilien climbed. Fresenius Medical Care, Merck and Bayer advanced. Satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat advanced after it announced a strategic partnership with Deutsche Telekom to bring unprecedented passenger connectivity to Europe’s aviation industry and its customers. RSA plunged after Zurich Insurance Group said it does not intend to make an offer to acquire RSA. Zurich Insurance also declined. Standard Chartered dropped on reports that the company violated US sanctions by dealing with Iranian clients. In London, mining and commodity stocks Glencore, Anglo American and Antofagasta declined.
Asia Pacific
Stocks were mixed, weighed down by global and growth concerns and the decline in US stocks on Friday. The Chinese market bucked the downtrend with a strong rally to the upside. The Japanese market was closed for public holidays and will reopen Thursday.
Both the S&P/ASX and All Ordinaries retreated 1.9%. Anxiety about the pace of global growth sent investors fleeing to safer assets, including the US dollar. Sembsita Pacific said French utility Suez Environment agreed to buy 40% of the shares it doesn’t already own in the former from Sembcorp for A$485 million. Australia’s mining and energy shares declined on global growth worries at a time when several of Australia’s biggest commodity exports have excess supplies. Banking stocks were also down steeply in a broad selloff, as threats to the local economy, including the property market, appeared to weigh on the minds of investors.
The Shanghai Composite added 1.9% while the Hang Seng lost 0.7%. The Chinese Beige Book showed that the service sector in China firmed up in the third quarter. The survey showed manufacturing putting in its most sluggish performance in two years during the July to September quarter, although services remained strong. And while China exports were weaker, they were a less significant driver of overall growth according to CCB International. The results are based on a survey of more than 2,100 businesses.
The Kospi lost 1.6% while the Sensex edged down 0.1%.
Global Stock Market Recap

Please remember, the value of investments and the income from them can do down as well as up. Funds that invest in overseas markets may be subject to currency fluctuations. Investments in small and emerging markets can be more volatile than other overseas markets. Reference in this document to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities, but is included for the purposes of illustration only.
Looking forward*
Australia reports second quarter residential property prices. In the US, August FHFA house prices and the September Richmond Fed manufacturing index are on tap.
*Note — all releases are listed in local time.