US Elections Weigh Europe down

Ivaylo
08 Nov, 2001
New York City

European shares retreated slightly in early trading on Wednesday, as investors were cautious after an inconclusive U.S. election result and some mixed third-quarter figures from companies such as EADS and Total. Oil companies were also under the spotlight because of the U.S. election. By mid morning, the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.3%, Frankfurt Xetra Dax shed 0.4%, and the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4%.

[R]6:30AM European stocks fall in early trading Wednesday on US election results.[/R]
European markets were lower on Wednesday. By mid morning, the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.3% to 6,222.3, Frankfurt Xetra Dax shed 0.4% to 6,338.43, and the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4% to 5,417.95.

Advancers

Shares in European defense company and Airbus owner EADS advanced 2.1% in Paris after it confirmed it expects to reach sales of well above 37 billion euros in 2006. German retailer KarstadtQuelle rose 2.8% after the firm said its third-quarter profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 51.4% to 57.4 million euros.

Peugeot rose 1.5% after finding a replacement to Jean-Martin Folz, who already had said he is quitting.

Decliners

BHP Billiton shed 2.2%, while Xstrata lost 1.9%. Hypo Real Estate led the decline after its third-quarter results failed to beat expectations, despite a 25% rise in net profit. The shares fell 3.4%.

Truckmaker Scania declined too after German rival MAN appeared less likely to succeed in its bid for the Swedish company. Shares of Scania, which carry the majority of the voting rights, fell 2.9%.

Volkswagen, the biggest shareholder of Scania, was down 1.7% after Bernd Pischetsrieder, chief executive, unexpectedly announced his departure at the end of the year.

Oil and gold

Crude oil rose on trader and analyst speculation that U.S. heating oil inventories will drop with winter approaching in the Northern Hemisphere. Crude oil for December delivery advanced as much as 37 cents, or 0.6%, to $59.30 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the NYME. Brent crude oil for December settlement rose 25 cents to $58.73 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.

Gold was trading in London at a $625.50 bid per troy ounce, down from $625.75 on Tuesday

Currencies

The U.S. dollar was lower against other major currencies in European trading Wednesday. The euro was quoted at $1.2792, up from $1.2771 Tuesday. The British pound was quoted at $1.9074, up from $1.9055. The dollar bought 117.55 Japanese yen, down from 117.68.

[R]5:00AM Gold and silver futures close nearly flat on Election Day.[/R]
December gold lost 20 cents to end at $627.70 a troy ounce on the NYME. December silver declined 8.5 cents to finish at $12.675 an ounce. January platinum futures settled $4.40 lower at $1,192.30 while December palladium moved $1.40 lower at $334.30 an ounce. December copper gained 2.85 cents to close at $3.3655 per pound.

December crude oil futures slipped $1.09 to end at $58.93 a barrel. December heating oil settled down 3.81 cents to $1.6803 a gallon. December unleaded gasoline declined 0.49 cent to $1.5241 a gallon. December natural gas settled up 26.5 cents at $7.755 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, December Arabica coffee futures closed 0.25 cent lower at $1.1295 a pound, with May down 0.20 cent at $1.1705. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for March settled 0.17 cent lower at 11.58 cents a pound.