European Indexes Rebound; CGGVeritas, Saint-Gobain Soar

Arthi Gupta
25 Feb, 2011
New York City

The European indexes rose after oil price eased. Euro area money supply growth slackened, French consumer spending declined and Spanish PPI soared in January. German consumer price inflation was steady at 2% in February. Saint-Gobain net surged more than five-fold.

[R]3:00 PM Frankfurt – The European indexes rose after oil price eased. Euro area money supply growth slackened, French consumer spending declined and Spanish PPI soared in January. German consumer price inflation was steady at 2% in February. Saint-Gobain net surged more than five-fold.[/R]

World indexes advanced after five days of consecutive losses on optimism that the Libyan crisis is abating. Crude oil prices eased. OPEC and Saudi Arabia have offered to step up oil production in the event of further supply disruptions.

In Paris CAC 40 Index gained 55.65 or 1.39% to close at 4,065.29 and in Frankfurt DAX Index edged higher 35.84 or 0.50% to close at 7,166.34. For the week, the CAC 40 Index slumped 2.12%.

Euro-zone Money Supply Growth Slackens

Euro-zone money supply growth slowed to 1.5% on a yearly basis in January from 1.7% in December, the European Central Bank said on Friday.

European Commercial Vehicle Sales Up 20%

European commercial vehicle sales increased at a faster pace in January, the European Automobile Manufacturers'' Association said on Friday. Auto sales increased 20% in January from a year ago, following a 12.5% rise in December.

In January, around 23,600 new trucks were registered, which was 52.5% more than in the same period of the previous year. Except for Greece and Ireland, all countries posted growth. New bus and coach registrations rose 17%.

Separately, Eurocoin indicator rose to 0.57% in February from 0.48% in January, a report from the Center for Economic Policy Research and the Bank of Italy showed today.

German Inflation Remains Unchanged

Germany''s consumer price inflation was 2% in February, unchanged from January, flash report from the Destatis showed on Friday.

French Consumer Spending Declines

French consumer spending fell 0.5% on a monthly basis in January, reversing a 0.4% rise in December, figures from the statistics office Insee showed on Friday.

Expenditure in durables decreased 1.7% in January after a sharp 3.3% increase in December. This decrease was mainly due to the 6.3% decline in car purchases before the end of the scrappage program.

Estonia Trade Deficit Narrows

Estonia''s trade deficit narrowed in 2010 to €498 million from €791 million in 2009, Statistics Estonia said on Friday. In 2010, the exports of goods at current prices increased 35% and imports 27% compared to 2009.

Spanish Producer Prices Soar

Spanish producer price index rose 2.4% on a monthly basis in January compared to 0.9% increase in December, the National Statistics Institute said on Friday.

On an annual basis, the PPI increased 6.8% in January compared with December''s 5.3% increase.

Norwegian Unemployment Rate Drops

Unemployment rate in Norway dropped marginally to a seasonally adjusted 3% in February from 3.1% in January, the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Service said today.

Swiss KOF Leading Indicator Climbs

Switzerland''s KOF Institute''s economic barometer rose to 2.18 in February from upwardly revised 2.16 in January, data released by the institute showed on Friday.

Gainers & Losers

Brit Insurance Holdings N.V. gained 0.66% to 1,066.00 pence after the UK based insurer and reinsurer reported fiscal year 2010 total revenue dropped 10% to £1,442.7 million from £1,602.8 million a year ago. Profit for the year grew 26.3% to £110.5 million or 142.4 pence per share from £87.5 million or 113.2 pence per share last year.

CGGVeritas surged 9.72% to €26.12 after the French geophysical services company reported fourth quarter revenues rose 34.4% to €672 million from €500 million in the prior year. Net loss in the quarter narrowed 91.2% to €26 million or 0.18 euros per share from €296 million or 1.97 euros per share a year earlier.

Colt Group S.A. fell 1.37% to 151.00 pence after the telecommunications company reported that fiscal year 2010 revenue fell 2.5% to €1.58 billion compared to €1.62 billion in the prior year. Profit for the year decreased 41.4% to €71.2 million or €0.08 per share from €121.6 million or €0.14 per share the previous year.

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain soared 5.96% to €43.21 after the materials groups reported fiscal year 2010 sales and ancillary revenue grew 6.2% to €40.12 billion from €37.79 billion a year before. Net income for the year surged 459% to €1.13 billion or €2.13 per share from €202 million or €0.39 per share a year before.

Deutsche Telekom AG dropped 1.61% to €9.76 after the integrated telecommunications provider reported fourth quarter net revenue dropped 4.4% to €15.48 billion from €16.2 billion in the comparable period last year. Net loss in the quarter widened to €582 million compared to net loss of €3 million last year.

Fuchs Petrolub AG climbed 2.60% to €91.64 after the German lubricants supplier reported fiscal year 2010 sales revenue rose 23.8% to €1.46 billion from €1.18 billion in fiscal 2009. Full-year profit rose 41.4% to €171.6 million from €121.4 million last year. Earnings per ordinary share were 7.18 euros compared with 5.07 euros in the previous year.

Koninklijke DSM N.V. edged higher 0.45% to €42.31 after the life and materials sciences company said it completed the subsequent offering period to its all-cash tender offer to buy all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Martek Biosciences Corp. at $31.50 per share.

Roche Holding AG increased 0.37% to Sfr 137.20 after the Swiss pharmaceutical company said that a pivotal study demonstrated the ability of the cobas HPV Test to individually detect HPV-16 and HPV-18, two of the highest risk HPV genotypes causing 70% of cervical cancer cases.

Telecom Italia SpA soared 4.21% to €1.09 after the Italian telecom company said it expects fiscal 2011 revenues to be broadly stable with last year. The company also updated its 2011-2013 plan after it reported a nearly doubled profit for its fiscal 2010. Further, the company announced a 15% annual increase in dividends.

Telefonica, S.A. advanced 1.56% to €18.28 after the Spanish telecom company reported fourth quarter revenues increased 9.9% to €16.5 billion. Net income in the quarter declined 45.4% to €1.3 billion from €2.4 billion last year, hurt by higher operating costs and income tax expenses.