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Earnings push
foreign stocksCanadian shares of JDS Uniphase
rose 49 percent in two days
Stocks in Europe and Canada gained on optimism earnings are improving after Infineon Technologies AG's first-quarter income beat analysts' expectations. Phone-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. extended its surge this year to 69 percent.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600, benchmarks for Europe, rose 0.2 percent. Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced for a fourth day, adding 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.7 percent to 11,036.33, closing above 11,000 for the first time since Oct. 21.
U.S. markets were closed yesterday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc.'s World Index, a global benchmark, surged 31 percent last year on optimism accelerating growth worldwide will boost corporate earnings. Some investors, including Benjardin Gaertner at Allianz Dresdner Asset Management in London, are betting on further gains.
"Stocks should continue to profit from the positive earnings momentum," said Gaertner, who oversees $1.9 billion in global equities at Allianz Dresdner in London. "What we've seen so far in terms of earnings gives us encouragement. The global economy is definitely picking up."
Gaertner is buying shares of Axa SA, Europe's second-biggest insurer, and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., Asia's biggest publicly traded exchange by value, on optimism they will profit from rising stocks markets and economic growth.
In Canada, the Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 58.10 to 8580.36, bringing its surge this year to 4.4 percent. The benchmark reached its highest since February, 2001.
Nortel Networks and electronics maker Celestica Inc. led technology shares higher after International Business Machines Corp. said it is hiring workers to meet demand. Nortel has led the Canadian benchmark's advance this year, surging 69 percent since the start of 2004.
Canadian exchangeable shares of California-based JDS Uniphase Corp., the world's biggest maker of fiber-optic components, jumped C$1.90 to C$8.65, bringing their two-day gain to 49 percent.
The MSCI World advanced 0.1 percent. Benchmarks in all of the 17 Western European markets advanced, except for Greece and the Netherlands.
Japan's Topix index, a broader measure than the Nikkei, climbed 1.3 percent. Exporters such as Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. led gains after reports Friday showed improved consumer confidence and factory production in the U.S.
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