Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, December 16, 2011 [View all]Ghost Dog
(16,881 posts)PARIS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - European stocks rose in early trade on Friday, extending the previous session's tentative rebound from a week-long drop, helped by better-than-feared U.S. macro data, but lingering concerns over the euro zone debt crisis kept gains in check.
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Copper prices rebounded, helped by signs of recovery by the U.S. economy. But despite the day's rally, prices were headed for their biggest weekly loss since the end of September and the first annual decline in three years.
Friday's gains in equities were limited as investors continued to fret about the prospect of credit rating downgrades that could hit euro zone countries soon.
"There's a growing sentiment that the European Central Bank is doing quite a good job and is ready to buy more bonds if needed, preventing stocks from a complete meltdown," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading at Global Equities.
"But at the same time, we have this sword of Damocles of rating downgrades waiting to happen, so it's hard to go long."
/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/16/markets-europe-stocks-idUKL6E7NG0VP20111216