Share

Trump takes stocks to record highs

London - US stocks pushed to fresh record highs on Thursday after US President Donald Trump promised details soon about his tax cut proposals.

The blue-chip Dow and the broader S&P 500 both touched fresh record highs following the comments.

"Stocks got an upward lift from reported comments from US President Trump in the afternoon session that he would have something phenomenal on tax in the next two to three weeks," said market analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

Equities in the United States have been on bull run since Trump's election in November on hopes his pledges to boost infrastructure spending and cut taxes will boost the world's largest economy, although details have so far remained scarce.

Stocks elsewhere have also got a boost as investors hope faster growth in the United States would perk up the global economy.

European stocks closed higher on Thursday, although growing concerns over Greece and looming elections in France and Germany gnawed at sentiment.

One of the top gainers in Paris was French bank Societe Generale, whose shares won almost three percent after posting better-than-expected net profits for 2016.

Profits after tax nevertheless still slid 3.2% to €3.87bn ($4.13bn), hit by accounting expenses and losses arising from the sale of its Croatian subsidiary, SocGen said in a statement.

IMF re-ignites Greek woes

World markets had wavered Wednesday as increasing uncertainty about France's political outlook and fears of another debt crisis brewing in Greece sent yields on European government debt higher.

Greek crisis worries were ignited this week after the International Monetary Fund warned the country would likely not reach targets prescribed for it to qualify for bailout cash.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble reaffirmed his staunch opposition to cutting Greece's debt, even as the International Monetary Fund has pressed Athens' creditors for such a move.

"For that, Greece would have to leave the monetary union," he said on German television.

Yields on Greek government 10-year bonds, which fell under 6.5% in November, are closing back in on 8.0% in secondary market trading.

For comparison, the yields on similar maturity German government debt is 0.31%.

Twitter tanks

Shares in Twitter took a 10% dive after the social network reported sluggish revenue and user growth, while its net loss in the fourth quarter of 2016 ballooned to $167m, from $90m in the same period in 2015.

Some analysts had expected a bump in Twitter use following the election of US President Donald Trump, who is an avid user of the platform and frequently offers his views on policy.

Twitter, which has never reported a profit, has been revamping its offerings as it seeks to expand beyond its core base of politicians, celebrities and journalists.

"The problem for Twitter is that non-users are unlikely to take up the service to view Trump's tweets in real time when they can get the full summary on other news sites," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading firm IG.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.00
-0.5%
Rand - Pound
23.95
-0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.50
-0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.5%
Platinum
895.30
-0.2%
Palladium
991.47
-1.0%
Gold
2,194.13
-0.0%
Silver
24.44
-0.8%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
67,910
+0.3%
All Share
74,134
+0.3%
Resource 10
56,271
+1.1%
Industrial 25
103,558
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,498
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders