Earnings Momentum Lift European Indexes; Accor, TeliaSonera Up

Arthi Gupta
20 Jul, 2011
New York City

European indexes extended gains ahead of the Greek bailout summit. German producer prices increased 5.6%. Accor first-half revenue rose 4.4% to

[R]1:50 PM Frankfurt – European indexes extended gains ahead of the Greek bailout summit. German producer prices increased 5.6%. Accor first-half revenue rose 4.4% to €3 billion. Alstom reported fiscal first quarter sales declined 12%.[/R]

In a cautious trading, European indexes extended gains after tech companies reported higher than expected earnings.

In Paris CAC-40 Index gained 52.58 to 1.42% to 3,747.53 and in Frankfurt DAX Index edged higher 26.59 or 0.37% to 7,219.26.

Investors are looking for details of bailout conditions for Greece from the summit scheduled later in the week. The euro-zone contagion is widening as the yields on Italian and Spanish bonds trade hover near record highs but just below danger zone of 7%.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said it ""could be a make-or-break moment for where Europe is going.""

The International Monetary Fund called for strong implementation of debt reduction plans in euro-zone countries in order to stop the debt troubles from spreading to other nations in the region.

In economic news, German producer prices increased 5.6% from a year ago in June, to the lowest level in six months, according to data released from the Federal Statistics Office today.

Imtech Buys Sydtotal

Imtech N.V., the technical services provider in Europe acquired the Swedish energy and climate specialist Sydtotal to strengthen its position significantly in the Swedish technical services market.

Logitech Acquires Mirial

Logitech International announced the acquisition of Mirial, a Milan-based leading provider of personal and mobile video conferencing solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gainers & Losers

Accor SA soared 3.4% to €30.49 after the French hotel group said first-half revenue rose 4.4% to €2.973 billion on a reported basis and 5.8% on a like-for-like basis.

Alstom SA fell 1.5% to €37.88 after the speed-train maker reported fiscal first quarter sales declined 12% to €4.53 billion from €5.17 billion in the previous year. Orders received in the quarter to June increased 44% to €5.01 billion compared with the prior-year period.

BHP Billiton Ltd. gained 1.9% to $43.44 after the mining company reported fourth quarter iron ore production increased 14% to 35.53 million tons from the year-ago period and full-year 2011 production rose 8% to 134.41 million tons.

Orkla ASA increased 3.1% to NOK 50.70 after the Norwegian industrial conglomerate said second quarter operating profit rose 16% to NOK 1.08 billion.

Swedish Match AB climbed 0.3% to SEK 218.80 after the cigar and snuff maker reported second quarter total sales fell 21% to SEK 2.94 billion compared to SEK 3.70 billion last year on comparable sales rise of 3%. Profit in the quarter declined 3.3% to SEK 615 million or SEK 2.94 per share from SEK 636 million or SEK 2.78 per share a year ago.

TeliaSonera AB soared 3.3% to SEK 46.66 after the Swedish telecommunications firm reported second quarter net sales fell 4.3% to SEK 25.89 billion from SEK 27.07 billion in the prior year period. Net income in the quarter decreased 26% to SEK 3.86 billion or SEK 0.89 per share from SEK 5.24 billion or SEK 1.17 per share in the year-ago period.