World stock markets rose solidly once more Friday as better-than-expected earnings in the U.S. continued to buoy recovery hopes, but Indonesian markets were shaken by deadly bomb blasts at hotels in the country's capital.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 28.23 points, or 0.7 percent, at 4,390.07 while France's CAC-40 was up 30.80 points, or 1 percent, at 3,230.48. Germany's DAX breached the 5,000 level for the first time in a month, trading 45.60 points, or 0.9 percent, higher at 5,002.79.
Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 51.16 points, or 0.6 percent, to 9,395.32 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 443.79, or 2.4 percent, at 18,805.66.
One country bucking the upward trend was Indonesia, which saw its main stock measure drop after a pair of powerful explosions killed eight and wounded at least 50 people at the upscale Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels in Jakarta. The country's currency, the rupiah, dropped almost 1 percent against the dollar.
Overall though, investor appetite for stocks continues after a string of better than expected U.S. second-quarter corporate earnings, not least from technology bellwethers IBM Corp. and Google Inc. Their strong after-hours statements reinforced hopes that the worst of the recession is over.
Kate Willsky | Posted 05.23.2012