European Markets Mixed, Volkswagen Falls

123jump.com Staff
12 Jun, 2009
New York City

European markets are closed mixed as investors focused on the direction of euro and dollar and surmised that the current rally in stocks stretched. Volkswagen declined after the company cited weak global markets. Thomson SA in Paris surged on the hopes of debt restructuring.

[R]7:00 PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European markets are closed mixed as investors focused on the direction of euro and dollar and surmised that the current rally in stocks stretched. Volkswagen declined after the company cited weak global markets. Thomson SA in Paris surged on the hopes of debt restructuring.[/R]

Most investors stayed on the sidelines as market indexes have rallied for the last fourteen weeks around the world and in Europe. Industrials and steelmakers declined as investors grow cautious and worry about the economic data and direction of the euro and dollar.

Gainers & Losers

Volkswagen AG declined 2.6% or 6.70 euro to 247.90 euro after it indicated that global auto sales are still weak and signs of recovery are not there. The government incentives supported sales rise in Germany and in China but the company still issued a cautious outlook.

Merck KGaA increased 1.5% to 73.30 euro, Deutsche Telekom increased 1.2% to 8.07 euro and Fresenius Medical Care added 1.8% to 31.20 euro.

Sanofi Aventis SA increased 3% to 47.65 euro after it assured market that it is working on developing swine flu vaccine.

Club Med surged 7% to 9.81 euro and erased the yesterday’s loss after it received an upgrade from a broker.

Broker recommendations lifted Ubisoft Entertainment SA 2.1% to 17.51 euro and Schneider Electric SA 1.6% to 55.89 euro.

Thomson SA surged 10% to 0.78 euro after the company won additional time to renegotiate its debt according to a report published by La Tribune.

Europe Markets Review

In London, FTSE 100 Index closed lower 19.92 or 0.45% to 4,441.95, in Paris CAC 40 Index decreased 8.80 or 0.26% to close at 3,326.14 and in Frankfurt DAX index declined 38.02 or 0.74% to close at 5,069.24. In Zurich trading SMI increased 37.99 or 0.69% to close at 5,521.84.

DAX Index Movers

Deutsche Boerse AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 4.29% followed by losses in Salzgitter AG of 3.57%, in Adidas AG of 3.52%, in ThyssenKrupp AG of 2.77%, in Volkswagen AG of 2.50%.

Merck KGaA led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 1.59% followed by gains in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA of 0.78%, in Commerzbank AG of 0.74%, in Deutsche Telekom AG of 0.62%, in BASF SE of 0.44%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

ArcelorMitta led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 2.67% followed by losses in Cap Gemini SA of 2.26%, in Credit Agricole SA of 2.23%, in TOTAL S.A. of 2.11%, in Alcatel Lucent 2.10%.

Lafarge S.A. gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 3.28% followed by gains in Sanofi-Aventis of 3.02%, in Dexia S.A. of 2.77%, in Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA of 1.97%, in Air France-KLM of 1.64%.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 31 increased, 68 declined and 3 were unchanged.

Vedanta Resources plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 8.47% followed by losses in Fresnillo Plc of 5.40%, in Antofagasta plc of 4.26%, in Barclays PLC of 4.11% and in Randgold Resources Ltd of 3.99%.

Man Group Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 6.40% followed by increase in GlaxoSmithKline plc of 5.38%, in AstraZeneca PLC of 4.45%, in BT Group plc of 4.09%, in Schroders plc of 2.57%.