Apple results lead to jump in global shares

Global shares rose on Wednesday, boosted by better-than-anticipated earnings from Apple Inc and suggestions of improved sentiment in the struggling eurozone debt markets, reports Reuters.

The dollar hit three-week lows on a range of currencies ahead of the Federal Reserve’s statement on the US’s monetary policy later in the day. Markets forecast that the US central bank will reaffirm its intention to freeze benchmark interest rates close to zero throughout 2014 and potentially hint at further easing. US equity markets went up, with the Nasdaq rising by more than two per cent and the S&P 500 index climbing by more than one per cent.

Apple increased by nine per cent to $610.70 following its announcement that quarterly profits nearly doubled due to strong iPhone sales. The company’s forecast-beating figures removed the recent market overhand and boosted optimism during a corporate earnings season which is already outstripping expectations by a long way.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) climbed by 88.82 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 13,090.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) increased by 64.20 points, or 2.17 per cent, to 3,025.80, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) rose by 16.08 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 1,388.05.