Monday, August 24, 2009

Europe Market Report

Europe close: Investors keep buying

Bourses kept rising Monday as investors continued to bet that Europe is emerging from the worst recession in decades.

Credit Agricole, UBS and Credit Suisse were among the best of a mostly stonger banking sector.

There were also good gains for energy majors as oil prices hit 10-month highs near $75 a barrel. Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Eni are stronger following Friday’s upbeat comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke about the global economic recovery.

Across the markets, Frankfurt rose 48 to 5,511, the French Cac added 36 to 3,652, while the Swiss exchange finished 54 higher at 6,194.

Life insurer Swiss Life rallied hard on reports that it is about to announce cost cutting measures aimed at saving 200-300m francs.

In economic news, eurozone industrial orders rebounded in June, raising hopes that the manufacturing sector is on the road to recovery.

Industrial orders in the 16-country zone rose 3.1% in June compared with May, according to European Statistics Office Eurostat.

New orders for capital goods grew by 5.6% month-on-month, while non-durable consumer goods increased by 3.1%. Durable consumer goods fell by 3.5%.

On the downside, drugmakers suffered as investors sold defensive stocks. Switzerland’s Roche and French peer Sanofi-Aventis were under pressure.

Indices

Index Value % Change
Xetra DAX 5,519.75 +1.04%
CAC 40 3,652.17 +1.01%
IBEX 35 11,303.80 +1.28%
AEX Index 297.88 +1.15%
FTSE MIB Index 22,354.86 +2.09%

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