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Stocks in Europe ended markedly higher on Wednesday, amid a growing conviction that a crisis in the banking sector is being contained.
The FTSE 100 index jumped 80.02 points, 1.1%, at 7,564.27. The FTSE 250 surged 236.12 points, 1.3%, to 18,632.81. The AIM All-Share climbed 3.75 points higher, 0.5%, at 796.20.
The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.9% at 755.36, the Cboe UK 250 added 1.5% at 16,235.83, and the Cboe Small Companies rose 0.4% to 13,251.01.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris surged 1.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt jumped 1.2%.
London’s FTSE 100 has risen over 2.0% so far this week, a far cry from the turmoil financial markets suffered amid fears of a banking crisis contagion.
In a strong day for banking stocks, Barclays closed up 3.4%, among the best FTSE 100 performers. The good feeling also stretched to the insurance sector. Asia-focused Prudential surged 4.4%. Elsewhere, M&G climbed 4.2%, also among the FTSE 100’s best-performers.
In Zurich, UBS shares rose 3.7%. It turned to its former chief executive officer, following its takeover of Credit Suisse. Sergio Ermotti, currently chair of reinsurer Swiss Re, will retake the helm of the Swiss bank next month.
Ermotti was previously CEO of UBS from late 2011 to October 2020, during which time he ‘successfully repositioned UBS following the severe challenges arising from the global financial crisis’, the bank asserted.
Incumbent UBS CEO Ralph Hamers has ‘agreed to step down to serve the interests of the new combination, the Swiss financial sector and the country’, UBS said.
Alibaba on Tuesday said it will split its company into six business groups, each with the ability to raise outside funding and go public, the most significant reorganization in the Chinese e-commerce firm’s history. Its shares rose 12% in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Investors saw thus as a sign of confidence in the global equity market.
AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented: ‘Often corporate reshuffles act as a catalyst for the share price on the basis that the individual parts of the business are worth more than the whole company. Breaking up the business could unlock this hidden value. As overhauls go this is about as dramatic as you could get and follows damaging crackdowns on the company and the wider sector by the Chinese authorities. It looks like Alibaba is seeking to assuage Beijing‘