NEW YORK, June 2 — European shares inched closer to a three-month high today on optimism around a post-coronavirus economic recovery, with German stocks buoyed by a jump for Lufthansa.
The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1 per cent in early deals to hit its highest level since March 9.
Lufthansa surged 7.5 per cent as its supervisory board approved a €9 billion (RM43 billion) government bailout for the airline, driving Frankfurt-listed shares up 2.6 per cent to its peak since March 5.
With traders in Germany returning from a long weekend, Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW gained between 4.5 per cent and 7.7 per cent on a Reuters report on Sunday that the country’s Ministry of Economics had proposed a €5 billion buyer bonus scheme to boost car sales.
Norway’s Seadrill slid 9.3 per cent as it announced a writedown of US$1.2 billion (RM5.15 billion) on the value of its oil drilling rigs and warned it may have to convert a part of its US$7.4 billion in debt into equity to survive.
Gains across the other markets were tempered by simmering US-China tensions, with Wall Street futures coming under pressure as President Donald Trump vowed to use the military to halt protests over the death of a black man in police custody. — Reuters