Europe Continues Advance

Ivaylo
14 Jun, 2007
New York City

European markets rallied for a second day with exporters and mining companies in the lead, after worries abated that interest rates will keep increasing and metal prices recovered in London. Michelin and Siemens led an advance by companies that make at least 20% of their sales in the U.S. By mid-day, Germany Xetra DAX added 1.4%. France CAC 40 and the U.K. FTSE 100 both rose 1%.

[R]6:30AM European markets advance Thursday on stronger exporters and miners.[/R]

European markets advanced on Thursday. By mid-day, Germany Xetra DAX added 1.4%. France CAC 40 and the U.K. FTSE 100 both rose 1%. National benchmarks rose in all 17 western European markets that were open.

Advancers

Michelin, the world second-biggest tiremaker, surged 1.9%. The company makes more than a third of its sales in North America.. Siemens, Europe largest engineering company, gained 2.8%. The U.S. accounted for 20% of the revenue of the company last year.

ABB Ltd. added 2.3%. The world biggest maker of power networks generated 24% of its sales in the Americas in 2006.

Miners rallied on a surge in copper prices. Rio Tinto added 2%, BHP Billiton Ltd., the world largest mining company, rose 1.3%

Decliners

Sanofi-Aventis plummeted 7.9%. A U.S. panel rejected the French drugmaker Zimulti weight-loss pill, saying the company did not show that its health benefits outweighed risks such as suicide.

Oil and gold

Crude oil rose after a U.S. government report showed refineries cut their operating rates, raising concern fuel supplies may fall short of demand this summer. Crude oil for July delivery rose as much as 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $66.54 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August settlement was at $70.38 a barrel, up 43 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures exchange. Gasoline for July delivery rose 0.97 cents to $2.165 a gallon in New York, after gaining 1% to $2.1553 yesterday.

Gold for immediate delivery fell as much as $1.75, or 0.3%, to $650.00 an ounce, and traded at $650.63. Silver for immediate delivery fell 1 cent to $13.10 an ounce. Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange gained $32, or 0.4%, to $7,327 a metric ton.

Currencies

The dollar edged higher against the euro in trading Thursday, but European currency was holding steady on a forecast of more growth in Germany. The euro bought $1.3308 in late morning trading in Frankfurt, down from the $1.3310 it bought in New York late Wednesday. The British pound declined to $1.9704 from $1.9734 the night before despite a release showing that May retail sales gained slightly more than expected to 3.9% from a year ago. The dollar rose against the Japanese yen, climbing to 122.96 yen from 122.61 yen

[R]5:30AM Oil prices surge Wednesday on depletion of supplies, gold, silver sink.[/R]

Crude oil for July delivery surged 91 cents to close at $66.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. July gasoline rose 2.03 cents to finish at $2.1553 a gallon.The EIA posted a slight decrease in use of the refineries to 89.2 %, down from 89.6 % in the prior week and 91.1 % three weeks ago.

Gold for August delivery settled lower, shedding 40 cents to $652.70 an ounce. The U.S. dollar gyrated in early trading, then later advanced against most major world currencies, including the euro and yen, which put pressure on gold. Silver for July slipped 3 cents to finish at $13.06 an ounce. Nymex copper prices rose 2.6 cents to end at $3.313 a pound.

July soybeans slipped as low as $8.15 a bushel then recovered somewhat to settle down a fraction of a penny at $8.256 on the Chicago Board of Trade. July corn rose jumped 11 cents to settle at $4.044 a bushel on forecasts for persistently dry weather in the eastern Corn Belt, which badly needs rain. Wheat, which is at the start of harvest season and has suffered rain damage, rallied 24.4 cents to end at $5.894 a bushel.