Europe Movers: BMW, Barratt Developments, Enagas, Evotec, Travis Perkins, VW

Inga Muller
10 Jul, 2024
Frankfurt

With rising political turmoil and leading nations of the European Union, the euro may face an uncertain future in the months ahead. 

French lawmakers struggled to form an alliance amid deep divisions, which could force President Macron to appoint a technocrat as the next prime minister. 

The DAX index increased by 0.8% to 18,373.27; the CAC-40 index rose by 0.9% to 7,574.88; and the FTSE 100 index rose by 0.6% to 8,186.21. 

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged lower to 2.51%. French bonds inched lower to 3.15%; the UK gilts inched lower to 4.10%; and Italian bonds decreased to 3.85%.

BMW increased 0.9% to €88.40, despite the German luxury automaker reporting weak vehicle sales in the second quarter. 

Vehicle sales in the second quarter decreased 1.3% from a year ago to 618,826 units, and electric vehicle sales rose 8.5% to 146,483 units.  

Volkswagen AG decreased 0.8% to €105.75 after the German automaker said it plans to close its facility in Brussels for Audi due to an ongoing decline in sales of electric vehicles. 

Evotec SE soared 4% to €9.76 after the company announced a collaboration with Pfizer to accelerate drug discovery efforts in France. 

Enagas gained 4.3% to €13.36 after the Spanish natural gas distribution grid operator said it agreed to sell its 30.2% stake in the Tallgrass to Blackstone for $1.1 billion. 

Enagas and Blackstone teamed up in 2019 to acquire a 10.93% initial stake in the Kansas-based Tallgrass Energy, a US energy infrastructure company founded in 2012. 

It owns three inter-state gas pipelines regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, with a total of 11,000 km of gas transmission pipelines, 2,400 km of gas gathering pipelines, and a 1,300 km oil pipeline.

Barratt Developments PLC declined 1.4% to 484.40 pence after the UK-based home builder said it is lowering its home sales estimate in the second half, citing elevated mortgage rates and challenging macroeconomic conditions. 

Travis Perkins jumped 6.5% to 853.0 pence after the construction materials maker appointed a new chief executive.

Travis Perkins appointed Pete Redfern as Director and Chief Executive Officer on September 16, succeeding Nick Roberts, who will resign from the office on the same day.