The stock markets in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific rebounded after Sweden surprisingly implemented aggressive economic stimulus. The markets also benefited from the cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter
The Riksbank reduced its key interest rate to -0.01% and launched a quantitative easing program, which includes government bond purchases worth 10 billion kronor or $1.2 billion. The central bank said the inflation was lower than expected.
Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves said they are ready to expand the monetary policy of it is necessary. According to him, “Should this not be enough, we want to be very clear that we are ready to do more.”
Russia and Ukraine reached a ceasefire-agreement after negotiating for 17 hours at Belarus regarding the Ukrainian conflict. The cease-fire will start on February 15. France President Francois Hollande and Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel helped in the negotiations.
[drizzle]Russian President Valodimir Putin said, “We have agreed on a ceasefire from midnight 15 February. There is also the political settlement. The first thing is constitutional reform that should take into consideration the legitimate rights of people who live in Donbass. There are also border issues. Finally there are a whole range of economic and humanitarian issues.”
Meanwhile, Greece and Germany are working on a compromise agreement. Two officials in Berlin stated that Germany will not insist the continuity of all the conditions under the current bailout program.
According to them, Germany is open to negotiations about the about the size of the budget surplus requirement and conditions to sell off the assets of the Greek government as long as the bailout is extended.
On the other hand, Greece is prepared to make a commitment to a primary budget surplus as long as it is lower than the existing 4% of its gross domestic product (GDP). The Greek government might be willing to compromise on privatizations
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 17,971.74 (+0.61%)
- S&P 500- 2,088.36 (+0.96%)
- NASDAQ- 4,857.61 (+1.18%)
- Russell 2000- 1,215.57 (+1.17%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,417.61 (+1.29%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,828.11 (+0.15%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 10,919.65 (+1.56%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 17,979.72(+1.85%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 24,422.15 (+0.44%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 3,442.87 (+0.25%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of Expedia climbed more than 14% to $89.57 per share after announcing its agreement to acquire Orbitz Worldwide for $12 per share in cash. Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said they are “attracted to the Orbitz Worldwide business because of its strong brands and impressive team.”
The shares of TripAdvisor surged more than 22% to $82.40 per share. The company reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter. Its revenue rose 35% to $288 million and its adjusted EBITDA rose 88% to $98 million. Its net income was $0.35 per share Analysts expected the company to posy $0.37 in earnings per share on $285.1 million in revenue.
FireEye gained 11% to $39.63 per share after reporting better-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter. The company said its revenue increased 150% to $143 million. Its net loss was $0.72 per share.
[/drizzle]
