Ashburton European Equity

(Reuters) - European stocks jumped and the euro recovered from week lows on Wednesday after official data showed an unexpected expansion in China's powerful factories in January and the first growth in German manufacturing in four months. Overall the data remained relatively grim, with crumbling demand in Europe holding back more buoyant economies in Asia. But some of the key numbers were better than feared, and that positive added to hopes that Greece is edging towards a comprehensive deal on restructuring its debt to ease markets' nerves at least for a moment. "The good Chinese data is definitely helping the market," said Veronika Pechlaner, a fund manager on the Ashburton European equity fund. China's official purchasing managers' index showed the factory sector expanded slightly in ...

(Reuters) - European shares rose on Wednesday, helped by a boost to bank stocks from hopes of an agreement in Greek debt swap talks and better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data. Earnings, which have so far only given mixed results, were another focus, with Infineon (IFXGn.DE) rising 5.5 percent, near the top of the leaderboard after the German chipmaker reported forecast-beating results. Banks, many of which have exposure to euro zone sovereign debt, featured among the best performers, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index .SX7P up 2.4 percent. Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said talks between Greece and its private creditors were "one formal step away," with a deal needed to avoid a messy default which could have serious consequences for financial markets. "It is ...

(Reuters) - European shares rose on Wednesday, with some investors looking to increase their short-term bets on banks on hopes of an agreement soon in the Greek debt talks, while better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data also boosted the market. Banks, many of which have exposure to euro zone sovereign debt were among the best performers, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index .SX7P up 1.9 percent. A deal is needed in the debt swap talks between Greece and its private creditors to avoid a messy default which could have serious consequences for the financial markets. Italian banks were the standout performers, with Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) and UniCredit (CRDI.MI) up 4.3 percent and 3.4 percent after the Bank of Italy eased rules on hybrid debt buybacks which will help them boost ...

European shares rose on Monday in thin trade, led by carmakers, after bullish broker comments buoyed the sector as investors shrugged aside Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgrade of nine euro countries and fresh worries about an unruly default in Greece. Volume was less than two-thirds of the 90-day daily average. That made trade choppy and exaggerated movements, with the gains were not enough to see the FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 break beyond a technical resistance level. The expected downgrades by credit rating agency S&P were ignored by the market. Yet analysts said the euro zone's EFSF bailout fund could be next in line for a downgrade and that top-rated countries, such as Germany, would need to increase financial backing to the fund for its rating to be maintained. There were also ...

European shares rose in thin trade on Monday, led by carmakers after bullish broker comment buoyed the sector, as investors shrugged aside Standard & Poor's downgrade of nine euro zone countries and fresh worries about an unruly default in Greece. Carmakers were the best performers, with the STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts index .SXAP up 3.1 percent after positive broker comment by Goldman Sachs gave support to the sector. "Carmakers are big exporters and have benefited from dollar strength, while Asian demand has been above expectations so investors are expecting earnings to improve," said Veronika Pechlaner, a manager on the Ashburton European equity fund. "Volume is thin, many had expected the S&P downgrades, but it is clearly not the end of the cuts and the ball is back in the ...

European shares and the euro were set to end a tough year on the defensive Friday while Bunds headed for their best performance in decades, reflecting a well-worn pattern of risk-averse trading that seems likely to extend far into 2012. The shared currency, battered by a euro zone debt crisis now in its third year, hit a 10-year low just below 100 to the yen and, against the dollar, fell 0.3 percent to $1.2940 having earlier broken below key support levels. U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat opening later in the day on Wall Street where renewed signs of life in a recently moribund U.S. economy have prompted gains on the DJIA .DJI of more than 6 percent in a generally torrid 2011 for global shares. With safe-haven investments tipped to remain in favor in early 2012, German and U.S. ...

European shares fell for the sixth consecutive session in low volume on Thursday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel restated her position against changing the role of the European Central Bank to ease the euro zone debt crisis. The market trimmed gains after the comments by Merkel about the ECB as well as remarks that she remained opposed to the use of jointly issued euro bonds to combat the region's debt crisis. "The comments about the ECB were a clear message to the market not to expect anything in the short-term," Veronika Pechlaner, a fund manager on the Ashburton European equity fund, said. "The market is looking toward the ECB as it only has the firepower necessary to help the situation. The question is how much systemic risk do you get before something is done." Banks .SX7P, ...

(Reuters) - Financial markets enter 2011 with many investors persuaded that the world economy is on the mend and that riskier assets such as stocks are set to do well. Data from Reuters asset allocation polls and State Street's investor confidence index suggest investors are positioned for more stock gains and a continued move away from supposedly safer assets such as government bonds and low-yielding cash. The Reuters polls, for example, showed equity holdings among leading investors at a 10-month high in December, while State Street's index for the month moved into bullish territory for the first time since March. But the waning days of 2010 suggest investors will almost immediately have to face three major risks to their rather bullish mood. In no particular order, those are: China' ...

(Reuters) - Investors caught in the middle of simmering global currency tensions are finding little option but to grab anything that is emerging markets as low rates and a falling dollar feed into a rush into high yielding assets. Key finance chiefs meeting in Washington and Seoul over the coming weeks will try to sooth tensions, intensified by Japan's currency intervention, expectations of more money printing in the United States and Brazil's measures to slow capital inflows. But such flows into emerging markets are part of investors fundamentally rebalancing their portfolio, away from low-growth advanced economies into the emerging world which some estimate will generate 85 percent of global growth in the next decade. Emerging markets are still under-represented in global market ...