The following is an excerpt from rt.com | October 12, 2012 |
Russian equities will likely open higher Friday amid improved investor sentiment in Europe and rising oil prices.
Russian stocks closed higher Thursday as investors digested the S&P downgrade of Spain’s sovereign credit rating and improved US jobs data. The MICEX added 0.15% and the RTS advanced 0.45%.
European stocks also climbed Thursday on the news of the Spain downgrade and renewed hopes that Madrid would ask for a bailout. The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.8%. The Spanish IBEX 35 rose 0.9% and Italy’s FTSE MIB added 1.25% after the Italian government successfully sold 6 billion euros in public debt.
US markets traded flat on Thursday despite data showing that jobless claims fell to a four-year low. Gains at Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase supported the indices. The Dow Jones fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq declined 0.1%. Earnings reports from J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo are expected Friday.
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