Cautious Start For Europe

Ivaylo
15 Sep, 2006
New York City

Investors are also concerned about the much awaited inflation data for indications on the outlook for global growth. The markets were buoyed by well-received results from water company Veolia Environement, while BP weighed after reports of investor worries over the oil giant safety record. The U.K. FTSE 100 index gained 0.04% at 5,880, the German DAX 30 index added 0.1% at 5,912 and the French CAC 40 index advanced 0.2% at 5,134.

[R]6:15AM European markets edge into positive territory on Friday.[/R]
European markets were higher by mid-morning on Friday. The U.K. FTSE 100 index gained 0.04% at 5,880, the German DAX 30 index added 0.1% at 5,912 and the French CAC 40 index advanced 0.2% at 5,134. Veolia Environnement advanced 1.2% after it said first-half net profit rose 40.3% as sales climbed 13.7%.

The auto sector was in demand after data showed that new car registrations in European shed 1.4% in August and after reports that truck maker Man AG could unveil the terms of its takeover offer for Swedish peer Scania as early as next week. Shares in Man and Scania both rose around 0.5%.

SEB erased early gains to slip 1.2%. The Swedish bank advanced 5% on Thursday on speculation of a merger between it and Nordic bank Nordea, which added 3.2% yesterday, but was down 1.3% this morning. German tyremaker Continental rose 2.6% after JP Morgan started coverage of the stock with a overweight.

Crude oil prices were unchanged Friday after natural gas prices plummeted to a two-year low overnight, and supply concerns were relieved after Nigerian oil workers prematurely ended a strike. Light, sweet crude for October on the NYME was down 2 cents to $63.20 a barrel on Friday.

Gold opened Friday at a bid price of $577.30 a troy ounce, down from $587.60 late Thursday. The euro was down slightly on the U.S. dollar Friday before the release of U.S. inflation data, which could signal what the Fed next interest rate move will be. In morning trading, the euro bought $1.2722, down from $1.2729 late Thursday in New York. The British pound advanced to $1.8873 from $1.8864 in New York, while the dollar rose to purchase 117.56 Japanese yen from 117.49 the day before.

[R]5:00AM Gold and silver fell Thursday on enrgy prices.[/R]
December gold shed $10.30 to settle at $586 a troy ounce on the NYME. December silver plunged 25 cents, to finish at $10.95 an ounce. October platinum fell $6.30 to settle at $1,179.50 an ounce. The December palladium contract settled $8.85 stronger at $327.20 an ounce. December copper dropped 1.05 cents to end at $3.3745 per pound.

The front-month October light, sweet crude oil contract closed 75 cents lower at $63.22 a barrel, its lowest close since March 22. October unleaded gasoline futures finished virtually unchanged at $1.5531 a gallon, while front-month October heating oil declined 0.0318 cent to $1.7110 a gallon. October natural gas contracts lost 55.7 cents, or 10% of their value, to settle at $4.89 per million British thermal units.

December Arabica coffee ended 1 cent lower at $1.0340 a pound, and March fell 1 cent to finish at $1.0730 a pound. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports declined after producer selling capped an early advance. The October contract closed 0.21 cents lower at 12.16 cents a pound.