Europe Higher on Philips, Autos

Ivaylo
22 Jan, 2007
New York City

European markets hit fresh six year highs on Monday as rising commodity prices helped lift oil stocks, miners and industrial metals groups, while strong sales helped Swiss watchmaker Swatch. Credit Suisse and Philips and were the other gainers on strong earnings reports. By late morning, FTSE 100 in London climbed 0.5%, Frankfurt Xetra Dax added 0.2%, and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4%.

[R]6:30 AM European shares gain Monday with auto, oil and resource stocks higher.[/R]
European markets were higher on Monday. By late morning, FTSE 100 in London climbed 0.5% to 6,266.9, Frankfurt Xetra Dax added 0.2 % to 6,758.26, and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4 % to 5,639.17.

Advancers

Swatch, the world largest watchmaker, reported a 12.3% rise in 2006 sales, adding that it expected full-year operating profit to above average

Austrian bank Raiffeisen International gained 2.8% after Morgan Stanley raised its price target, saying it had underestimated the bank asset growth potential.

DaimlerChrysler led the auto sector higher after JPMorgan raised its price target keeping its overweight rating.

German car parts maker Continental gained 2.1% after Merrill Lynch lifted its target price in expectation of capital restructuring in the coming months.

Philips shares rose 1.6% in Amsterdam after the company said its fourth quarter net profit more than doubled on comparable sales growth of 2%.

Credit Suisse rose 0.4% after it said that it intends to return up to 8 billion Swiss francs to its shareholders over three years.

Oil stocks were higher too. Norway Statoil gained 1.7%, while Austrian OMV added 1.6% and Royal Dutch Shell climbed 0.8%.

Decliners

British Airways were trading down 1.7% after it said it was notified by the Transport and General Workers Union that British Airways employees who are members of the TGWU cabin crew branch will be called upon to take part in a series of strikes.

Oil and gold

Crude oil advanced for a second day in New York on speculation that cold weather in the northeastern U.S. will increase consumption. Crude oil for February delivery rose $1.06, or 2%, to $53.05 a barrel, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March settlement gained 69 cents, or 1.3%, to $54.13 a barrel in electronic trading on the ICE Futures exchange and was at $53.97 in London. Gold traded in London at $635.10 per troy ounce, up from $632.00 late Friday.

Currencies

The dollar rose against other major currencies in European trading Monday morning. The euro traded at $1.2949, down from $1.2965 late Friday. The British pound traded at $1.9730, down from $1.9737. The dollar bought 121.60 Japanese yen, up from 121.29.

[R]5:00 AM Gold and silver advance on Friday supported by stronger crude oil.[/R]
February gold gained $8.30 to close at $636.40 a troy ounce and March silver advanced 23.5 cents to finish at $12.92 an ounce. April platinum settled flat at $1,168.50 an ounce, while March palladium closed the session up $1.50 at $344.90. The most-active March copper contract added 2.50 cents to finish at $2.5170 per pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

February crude oil reached $52.05 a barrel before ending up $1.51 at $51.99 a barrel. February heating oil also gained 4.28 cents to end at $1.5135 a gallon. February gasoline settled up 4.27 cents at $1.3980 a gallon and February natural gas advanced 56.2 cents to finish at $6.886 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, the March Arabica coffee futures contract settled down 0.05 cent at $1.1970 a pound. March futures on raw sugar in foreign ports gained 0.15 cent to close at 10.86 cents a pound.