European Indexes Up; Daimler, Novartis Rise

Mayank Mehta
20 Apr, 2010
New York City

European markets closed higher on positive earnings. Daimler AG surged 7% after it estimated higher profit this year and Novartis AG said first quarter sales rose 25% and net surged 49%. TeliaSonera AB the provider of telecommunications services said first quarter sales fell 4%.

[R]7:00 PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European markets closed higher on positive earnings. Daimler AG surged 7% after it estimated higher profit this year and Novartis AG said first quarter sales rose 25% and net surged 49%. TeliaSonera AB the provider of telecommunications services said first quarter sales fell 4%. Trelleborg AB lifted sales outlook.[/R]

The Securities Exchange Commission’s suit against Goldman Sachs drew attention from regulators in the UK and Germany. The UK regulatory agency FSA has opened a formal inquiry to review its derivative operations.

The Committee of European Securities Regulators is working with member nations to coordinate and monitor various investigations into Goldman Sachs, according to the regulatory group chairman Eddy Wymeersch.

European air travel resumed after regulators eased air travel restrictions despite pilots resistance. Nearly half the flights in Europe are back to normal after airports in Paris reopened but London airports are still closed.

More than 14,000 flights are expected to meet their today’s schedule as nearly eight million passengers are stranded in sixteen European nations. In Northern Europe only Scandinavia and Scotland are free of volcanic ash cloud and as is Iberian coastal region.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 52.05 or 0.91% to 5,779.96, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 45.64 or 1.15% to close at 4,016.11, in Frankfurt DAX index higher 94.52 or 1.53% to close at 6,256.96. In Zurich trading SMI increased 74.05 or 1.09% to close at 6,877.73.

Daimler AG surged 7% after it estimated higher profit this year on higher sales in the US and China and Novartis AG said first quarter sales rose 25% and net surged 49%. TeliaSonera AB the provider of telecommunications services said first quarter sales fell 4%.

Gainers & Losers

Air Berlin Plc rose 0.7% to €4.04 after the airline was forced to cancel flights between Europe and Florida as a volcanic cloud originating in Iceland continues to disrupt air travel in Europe for the sixth day.

Bauer AG dropped 2.8% to €34.19 after the construction company forecasts for fiscal 2010 total group revenues around the previous fiscal year''s level and after-tax profit of approximately €40 million. For fiscal year 2009 company reported revenue of €1,278.3 million.

Club Mediterranee SA added 1.1% to €13.19 after the holiday’s operator company will allow customers who are unable to return home because of air traffic disruptions to prolong their stays for free, a company spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires on Monday.

Delticom AG the tire dealer rose 2.8% to €36.40.

Daimler AG gained 6.6% to €38.74 after the carmaker estimated higher profit from continuing operations in the year between €2.5 billion and €3 billion compared to the previous estimate of 1.5 billion on higher sales in the US and China.

Kone Oyj surged 6% to €33.35 after it revised its full year sales forecast to a declined between zero and 5% from the previous estimate of a decline of 5%.

Lagardere SCA decreased 0.5% to €31.50 after activist investor Guy Wyser-Pratte said that the management had taken steps towards the disposal of Canal+ which will help shareholders realize higher value.

MTU Aero Engines Holdings AG added 2.5% to €43.20 an engine manufacturer said first quarter revenues fell 7.6% to €640.2 million from €693.1 million a year ago. Net profit for the quarter rose 5% to €32.6 million or €0.67 per diluted share compared to net profit of €31.0 million or €0.64 per share a year ago.

NL Industries, Inc the maker of tyres fell 2.5% to €8.33.

Novartis AG the healthcare products provider said first quarter sales rose 25% to $12.1 billion from $9.7 billion a year ago. Net profit for the quarter rose 49% to $2.95 billion or $1.29 per diluted share compared to net profit of $1.98 billion or $0.87 per share a year ago.

PSA Peugeot Citroen S.A climbed 3.0% to €22.44 after the carmaker pledged to replace up to a third of the plastic polymers in its cars with recyclable materials by 2015.

Radiall SA the maker of electronics products and connectors slipped 1.0% to €67.81.

Safran SA dropped 2.6% to €18.40 after maker of aircraft engines said first quarter revenue fell 2.5% on year at €2.43 billion.

Soitec SA the maker of materials for chips increased 4.3% to €11.61.

TeliaSonera AB the provider of telecommunications services said first quarter sales fell 4% to SEK26.1 billion from SEK27.1 billion a year ago. Net profit for the quarter rose 6.4% to SEK4.7 billion or SEK 1.05 per diluted share compared to net profit of SEK4.4 billion or SEK0.99 per share a year ago.

Trelleborg AB based in Sweden and the maker of vibration dampening systems increased 2.3% to Skr55 after it said first quarter net rose to Skr285 million compared to Skr65 million a year ago quarter.

Total SA rose 1.1% to €43.37 after the oil company was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Citigroup Inc.

DAX Index Movers

E.ON AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 0.44%.

Diamler AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 7.45%, followed by increase in BMW AG of 4.17%, in Deutsche Bank AG of 3.58%, in Volkswagen AG of 3.34%, and in MAN SE of 2.40%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Credit Agricole SA led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 0.61%, in Suez Environnement SA of 0.40%, in Dexia SA of 0.33%, in Pernod Ricard SA of 0.26% and in Cap Gemini SA of 0.16%.

PSA Peugeot Citroen S.A. gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 4.57%, in Schneider Electric SA of 4.13%, in Renault SA of 3.89% in STMicroelectronics N.V. of 3.29% and in Technip of 2.73%.