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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Strong gains for European shares | Strong gains for European shares |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| European shares opened higher on Friday at the end of an extraordinary week of trading, taking heart from the gains on Wall Street on Thursday. | European shares opened higher on Friday at the end of an extraordinary week of trading, taking heart from the gains on Wall Street on Thursday. |
| In early trading, the FTSE 100 rose 3.9%, the Dax in Frankfurt was up 2.8% and the Cac 40 in Paris was up 4.2%. | |
| It followed gains of 4.7% in New York and 2.8% on Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index. | It followed gains of 4.7% in New York and 2.8% on Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index. |
| The mood was helped by news from IBM, which said it expects to meet long-term profit forecasts and Google, which reported better-than-expected results. | The mood was helped by news from IBM, which said it expects to meet long-term profit forecasts and Google, which reported better-than-expected results. |
| Rallies and slumps | Rallies and slumps |
| Stock markets have been rallying and slumping on alternate days as investors try to decide how severe the global economic downturn will be. | Stock markets have been rallying and slumping on alternate days as investors try to decide how severe the global economic downturn will be. |
| "This is the most volatile week we've seen," said Thierry Lacraz, strategist at Swiss bank Pictet in Geneva. | "This is the most volatile week we've seen," said Thierry Lacraz, strategist at Swiss bank Pictet in Geneva. |
| "The sole intelligent thing is to remain on the sidelines and not make any huge bets." | "The sole intelligent thing is to remain on the sidelines and not make any huge bets." |
| Oil prices rose above $72 a barrel from a 14-month low on expectations that Opec would decide to cut production at its upcoming meeting. | Oil prices rose above $72 a barrel from a 14-month low on expectations that Opec would decide to cut production at its upcoming meeting. |
| Key indexes in South Korea and Australia fell back slightly, though markets were relatively stable in comparison with recent gyrations. | Key indexes in South Korea and Australia fell back slightly, though markets were relatively stable in comparison with recent gyrations. |
| The Nikkei index climbed 235.37 points to end at 8,693.8, having lost more than 11% on Thursday. | The Nikkei index climbed 235.37 points to end at 8,693.8, having lost more than 11% on Thursday. |