European Shares Flatten

Elena
07 Apr, 2006
Frankfurt

European stocks traded near the flat line at mid-day, reflecting cautiousness ahead of U.S. jobs report and news that BAE Systems is selling its stake in Airbus. The German DAX 30 inched up 0.01%, the French CAC 40 edged down 0.01%, while London FTSE 100 gained 0.3%.

[R] 8:15 AM European averages traded flat at mid-day.[/R]
European markets traded in a tight range at mid-day, reflecting cautiousness ahead of U.S. jobs report and news that BAE Systems is selling its stake in Airbus. Aerospace company BAE Systems dropped 1.9% after it announced it is in talks to sell its 20% shareholding in plane maker Airbus to European aerospace giant EADS. The German DAX 30 inched up 0.01%, the French CAC 40 edged down 0.01%, while London FTSE 100 gained 0.3%.


[R]7:45AM Asia advanced. The Nikkei and Hang Seng hit 51/2-year highs.[/R]
Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished largely in the positive, with tech stocks tracing U.S. gains to provide a boost to the market sentiment. The Nikkei reversed from early losses to close the session up 0.4% at 17,563.37, the highest level in nearly six years. The index, which has recently been strong on fresh fund investments into blue-chip, auto and banking stocks, was supported by gains for blue-chip and tech companies. Among the leading gainers, major game maker Nintendo rose 2.8%, Kyocera was up 3.5% and Toshiba jumped higher by 2.3%. Across the region, Hong Kong''s Hang Seng advanced for a fourth consecutive session, rising 0.4% to a 51/2-year high on flows of speculative funds. Shares of China Mobile rose 1.6%. Taiwan Weighted index climbed 0.3% on strong semiconductor and tourist companies.