Europe down on Low Volumes

Ivaylo
29 May, 2006
Frankfurt

Both London and New York are closed today because of public holidays. In mid morning trading, Frankfurt

[R]6:30AM European shares decline on weak trading.[/R]
European markets traded lower in morning session. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax fell 0.5% to 5,757.02 and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.6% to 5,015.54. Looking at the corporate news, Arcelor shares gained 1.7% in view of its proposed merger with the Russian Severstal, in an attempt to thwart Mittal Steel aggressive bid. Other stocks were also down. Michelin, the French tire maker, was down1.2% due to the death of its president in a boating accident, while GNP Assurances, the French insurer, advanced 2.4% after being raised to “sell’ from “hold” by Societe Generale.

The dollar lost against the euro. The euro bought $1.2745, slightly higher from the $1.2721 it bought late Friday in New York. The British pound also strengthened, up to $1.8595 from $1.8558. The dollar bought 112.32 Japanese yen, down from 112.70 at the end of last week.

[R]5:00AM Gold prices advance prior to Memorial Day.[/R]
June gold finished up $2.50 to $651 a troy ounce in New York. July silver added 13 cents to $12.73 an ounce and July platinum settled up $3.10 to $1,298.10 an ounce. June palladium closed $3.10 up to $355.10 an ounce. Copper settled 10.75 cents higher at $3.8150 per pound.

The July crude oil contract put 5 cents up to $71.37 a barrel after trading in the range of $70.86 and $71.90. For the week, crude futures finished more than 4% higher. June gasoline climbed 3.24 cents to close at $2.1368 a gallon. On the New York Board of Trade, Arabica coffee futures sank to fresh 5-month lows. July closed 0.55 cent lower at 98.10 cents a pound while September declined 0.55 cent to $1.01 a pound. Raw sugar in foreign ports futures for July finished down 0.36 cent at 15.88 cents a pound while October declined 0.31 cent to 16.14 cents a pound.