European Indexes Lower; Hochtief Plunges 8.6%

Arthi Gupta
11 Apr, 2011
New York City

European indexes traded sideways led by automakers. Meyer Burger agreed to acquire Roth & Rau for

[R]2:00 PM Frankfurt – European indexes traded sideways led by automakers. Meyer Burger agreed to acquire Roth & Rau for €22 per share. NYSE Euronext reaffirmed agreement with Deutsche Boerse.[/R]

European markets edged lower after crude oil and metals traded near recent highs. U.S. indexes traded higher ahead of the earnings season starting today. Asian markets declined after higher commodity prices.

A magnitude 7.1 aftershock rattled Northeast Japan at 17:16 JST on Monday and Japan’s meteorological agency issued tsunami warning for Ibaraki prefecture with waves of one meter high.

In Paris CAC-40 Index declined 30.50 or 0.75% to 4,031.41 and in Frankfurt DAX index edged lower 23.11 or 0.32% to 7,193.91.

EU ministers agreed to prepare a financial assistance package to Portugal immediately and to reach an agreement by mid-May. The package is expected to bring new government spending cuts but will require approval from at least three major parties as the nation prepares for an election in June.

Separately, the German government is set to lift its growth estimate next week, German media reported on Saturday. The government is expected to increase its growth forecast to 2.5% from 2.3% for this year, the Focus magazine said.

NYSE Reaffirms Agreement with Deutsche Boerse

NYSE Euronext Board unanimously reaffirmed the merger agreement with Deutsche Boerse AG. The Board also rejected the proposal by NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. to break up NYSE Euronext.

Meyer Burger Acquires Roth & Rau

Roth & Rau AG, a supplier of production equipment and production technologies for the photovoltaics industry agreed to be acquired by Meyer Burger Technology AG for €22 per share in cash.

Meyer Burger, a Switzerland -based provider of innovative systems and production lines for photovoltaics acquired a total of 11.3% of the share capital of Roth & Rau through its voluntary public takeover offer.

Gainers & Losers

BHP Billiton Limited gained 2.19% to $101.32 on the persistent rumors the mining giant is in talks to buy Royal Dutch Shell Plc''s remaining 24% stake in Woodside Petroleum for £29.6 billion. However, BHP issued a statement in Australia and denied the rumors. Separately, Western Australia premier also cautioned energy industry executives against the merger and said at a conference today to keep “hands off Woodside.”

Daimler AG fell 2.31% to €50.84.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG dipped 0.61% to €14.64 after the Germany aviation group said it carried 22.08 million passengers in the first quarter.

The airline raised capacity by 10.6% and lifted sales by 6.8% in the quarter. However the unrest in the Middle East and Africa as well as the catastrophes in Japan adversely affected the overall performance in the first quarter.

Henkel AG & Co KGaA dropped 1.43% to €43.83 after the German laundry and home care products maker confirmed the targets for fiscal 2011. The company expects to achieve organic growth of between 3% and 5% in 2011 and anticipate an increase in its adjusted EBIT margin to around 13% and a rise in adjusted earnings per preferred share of around 10%.

Hochtief AG plunged 8.64% to €62.82 after the provider of construction-related services lowered its outlook for fiscal 2011 in light of a reduction in the profit forecast for its Australian subsidiary Leighton. The company controls 54% stake in the largest Australian contractor announced plans to raise A$757 million through a share issue.

Leighton also announced a loss of $907 million related to various projects in Australia and Middle East and also estimate a loss in the current fiscal you.

Consolidated net profit is now expected to exceed €288 million reported in fiscal 2010. Hochtief''s prior estimate was consolidated net profit of some €600 million in fiscal 2011.

Novartis AG dropped 0.54% to $55.30 after the provider of healthcare solutions announced that a new analysis demonstrated that Gilenya reduced the risk of disability progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, regardless of treatment history.

Siemens AG decreased 1.14% to €95.18 after the German engineering company is said to have sold its 34% stake in the nuclear power joint venture Areva NP S.A.S to French energy conglomerate Areva SA for €1.62 billion or $2.34 billion, media reports suggest.