NEW YORK: US and European shares rose yesterday as a $68 billion pharmaceutical takeover and a bright spot in US housing data spurred investors’ optimism while oil prices rose on speculation supply cuts were taking hold.
Britain’s Barclays added to the positive tone after it said it did not need to raise fresh capital, sending its battered shares soaring 73 percent and helping a recovery in other financial shares on both sides of the Atlantic. Barclays shares closed the day up 73.2 percent at 88.7 pence on London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average was up 103.78 points, or 1.28 percent, at 8,181.34. Financial stocks in Europe surged, driving the FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares 3.2 percent higher at 784.66 points.
Oil prices rose yesterday. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March jumped 85 cents to $49.29 a barrel on London’s InterContinental Exchange.
New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for March, rallied $1.37 to $47.84 a barrel. Spot gold prices rose $7.80 to $906.20 an ounce.
