On Friday, the European stock exchanges will again focus on the ailing Chinese real estate group Evergrande.
After the hopeful reports earlier this week that Evergrande would pay the interest on some of its loans on time, investors who would receive an interest payment on Thursday are still waiting for further information about that payment. Evergrande must transfer money within 30 days, or it will default.
The Amsterdam AEX index, which closed above 800 points for the first time in history on Thursday, seems to start almost flat on the last trading day of the week. Elsewhere in Europe, stock market indicators are also expected to open with small price movements. Major stock markets in Asia mainly posted slight losses on Friday. In Tokyo, investors caught up after a day off, and the Nikkei entered the weekend with a gain of 2.1 percent.
In Hong Kong, Evergrande fell nearly 10 percent. Business newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese authorities have called on local administrators to prepare for the possible demise of the group. Evergrande’s shaky financial position also appears to extend beyond the group’s real estate business. For example, China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group plunged nearly 18 percent. In addition, according to Bloomberg news agency, Evergrande’s electric car division is lagging behind in paying salaries and bills.
Majorel Group makes its stock exchange debut on Damrak. The call centre company, which was formed from a merger of the customer relationship management activities of the German Bertelsmann and the Moroccan Saham Group, has set the introductory price at 33 euros per share. The company thus has a value of 3.3 billion euros.
European stocks were mostly ahead on Thursday. The AEX ended 1 percent higher at 800.61 points, and the MidKap climbed 0.7 percent to 1092.59 points. The indicators in Frankfurt and Paris gained almost 1 percent. London lost a fraction. Wall Street showed a strong recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5 percent to 34,764.82 points. The broad S&P 500 gained 1.2 percent, and tech Nasdaq climbed 1 percent.
The euro was worth $1.1736, against $1.1724 a day earlier. The price of a barrel of US oil rose 0.2 percent to $73.46. Brent oil cost 0.4 percent more at $ 77.52 a barrel.