Brexit Worries Ease in Europe, HSBC Settles 14-Year Old Shareholder Suit

Sarla Buch
17 Jun, 2016
New York City

European markets rebounded after Brexit worries eased. HSBC Holdings agreed to settle 14-year old shareholder lawsuit for $1.58 bilion. JD Sports forecasted optimistic outlook. Tesco agreed to sell Dobbies Garden Centers for

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – European markets rebounded after Brexit worries eased. HSBC Holdings agreed to settle 14-year old shareholder lawsuit for $1.58 bilion. JD Sports forecasted optimistic outlook. Tesco agreed to sell Dobbies Garden Centers for £217 million. UBM completed the sale of its PR Newswire unit.[/R]

European markets traded higher after a mild rebound in banking sector stocks and oil regained lost ground in last two weeks of trading as the Brexit worries eased.

European markets have traded volatile as the U.K. voters head for a referendum on June 23 and decide if the nation should remain or leave the European Union.

The U.K., fifth largest economy in the world, is expected to stay in the union as more leaders voice their opinions and urge the nation to vote in favor of the union.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index jumped 63.58 or 1.1% to 6,014.49 and in Frankfurt the DAX index increased 66.90 or 0.7% to 9,615.08.

In Paris, CAC 40 index gained 31.34 or 0.7% to 4,183.98.

For the week, FTSE 100 index slipped 1.7% and the DAX index dropped 2.2% and the CAC 40 index slumped 2.9%.

HSBC Holdings Plc advanced 1.2% tto 431.25 pence after the U.K.-based banking and financial services settled a shareholder suit for $1.58 billion. The settlement ends the 14-year suit that alleged that the finance unit of the bank misled investors.

However, the settlement is subject to the court approval.

JD Sports Fashion Plc increased 0.8% to 1,234.50 pence after the U.K.-based sports and outdoor brands retailer’s executive chairman Peter Cowgill said that trading since April had been “very good” and we are well positioned to deliver an “excellent first-half year result.”

He also added that the company faces strong comparatives for the remainder of the year and “we have, in recent weeks, seen a further boost to sales from the UEFA Euro 2016 Tournament.”

Tesco Plc gained 1.5% to 154.90 pence after the U.K.-based food and retailer agreed to sell its second largest garden retailer of U.K. Dobbies Garden Centers business for about £217 million in cash or $309 million to an investor group led by Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital.

UBM Plc jumped 3.5% to 570.50 pence after the U.K.-based event organizer said that the sale of its PR Newswire business to Cision, a business controlled by GTCR Canyon Holdings L.P is completed for about £490 million.