us-economy1Upbeat Alcoa gives world markets a boost

LONDON — World stock markets rose further Thursday after a solid start to the U.S. third-quarter corporate earnings reporting season solidified hopes that the global recovery is on a sound footing.

European stocks tracked their Asian counterparts higher, with the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares up 34.42 points, or 0.7 percent, at 5,143.32 and Germany’s DAX 63.34 points, or 1.1 percent, firmer at 5,704.09. The CAC-40 in France was up 52.46 points, or 1.4 percent, at 3,808.87.

Wall Street was poised for an advance at the open later, with Dow futures up 86 points, or 0.9 percent, at 9,759 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 futures 10.5 points, or 1 percent, higher at 1,064.10.

The global gains came after U.S. aluminum company Alcoa Inc. unveiled better than expected third quarter earnings in an after-hours statement Wednesday.

Alcoa, which traditionally kicks off the quarterly results season, said it earned $77 million, or 8 cents per share, in the three months to end-September. Though the profit was 70 percent down on last year’s $268 million, it was better than expectations and helped send Alcoa’s shares up nearly 6 percent in after-hours trade.

Alcoa also painted a fairly rosy picture for the second half of the year, forecasting an 11 percent increase in worldwide aluminum demand, largely on the back of robust growth in China.

“The U.S. Q3 earnings season kicked off in a positive manner though there is a long way to go before a picture of the earnings landscape can be developed,” said Mitul Kotecha, an analyst at Calyon Credit Agricole.

Investors will be looking closely at the upcoming earnings to see if hopes of a global recovery in the second half of the year are well-founded.

The second quarter earnings season was generally better than expected and helped fuel a big rise in share prices in July and August. However, the forecast-busting earnings were largely due to cost cutting that are unlikely to be repeated.

In Britain, investors were following reports that Lloyds Banking Group was planning a 15 billion pounds ($24 billion) cash call — which would be the biggest in U.K. history — to keep the government’s stake in the company from rising above 15 percent. Shares were down 3 percent, making it the second-biggest faller in the FTSE.

Markets will also be keeping a close eye on interest rate decisions later from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England and any comments they may make regarding the pace of the economic recovery.

Analysts say the European Central Bank, which controls monetary policy for the 16 countries that use the euro, and Britain’s Bank of England will keep benchmark interest rates unchanged at historic lows of 1 percent and 0.5 percent.

“As the session moves on all eyes will be on the BoE and the ECB and many will want to see signs of exit strategies,” said James Hughes, market analyst at CMC Markets.

“With U.S. index futures looking positive for the open it may well be that we have another strong session our hands,” he added.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 32.87 points, or 0.3 percent, to 9,832.47 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 251.31 points, or 1.2 percent, to 21,492.90.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.1 percent while Australia’s index jumped 1.6 percent after the country’s unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 5.7 percent last month, adding to optimism about an economic recovery following a surprise interest rate increase earlier this week.

Mainland China’s markets reopen Friday, having been closed for much of the week for a national holiday.

The dollar, meanwhile, continued to fall against major currencies amid ongoing concerns about its future as the world’s leading reserve currency, and that helped push commodities prices. Crude oil climbed above $70 a barrel and gold hit a new high above $1,058 an ounce.

The dollar was down 0.4 percent at 88.26 yen, while the euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.4766.

Further sustained falls could see the dollar fall below its multi-year low of 87.11 yen and the euro break above its two-year high of $1.4842, achieved last month.

Oil prices rose amid a weakening U.S. dollar and mixed crude inventory data. Benchmark crude for November delivery was up 78 cents at $70.35; the contract lost $1.31 overnight.

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AP Business Writer Jeremiah Marquez in Hong Kong contributed to this report.