European Markets Rise; Nuclear Stocks Up

123jump.com Staff
28 Sep, 2009
New York City

German voters returned Angela Merkel led CDU/CSU party with the highest share of votes as the SPD takes a beating. Merkel led parties also reported their worst showing in sixty years. Solar stocks fell on the worries that the government subsidies may be trimmed but nuclear power utilities gained.

[R]7:00 PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – German voters returned Angela Merkel led CDU/CSU party with the highest share of votes as the SPD takes a beating. Merkel led parties also reported their worst showing in sixty years. Solar stocks fell on the worries that the government subsidies may be trimmed but nuclear power utilities gained. Markets in France and Switzerland advanced.[/R]

German election results provided added impetus to the markets in Germany and Europe as the ruling coalition returns with the largest majority after the election. More voters drifted away from main parties to smaller parties as recession takes its toll on employment and government debt surges.

The likely coalition between CDU/CSU and FDP parties garnered 48.6%, the largest segment of votes in the election with Angela Merkel as the leader of the government.

The leader of FDP Guido Westerwelle is widely expected to be Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 83.50 or 1.64% to 5,165.70, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 85.86 or 2.30% to close at 3,825.00, in Frankfurt DAX index higher 154.90 or 2.78% to close at 5,736.31. In Zurich trading SMI increased 52.36 or 0.84% to close at 6,289.27.

Gainers & Losers

Bayer AG added 0.4% to €46.44 as investors and scientists gather at a regional conference.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG rose 0.3% to €11.85 after the airlines said it controls now 91.2% of Austrian Airlines AG after Austria sold its 41.6% controlling stake in the airline earlier this month.

E.ON AG, the power and gas company added 4.5% to €29.48 and RWE slipped 4.2% to €64.80 on the speculation that recent reelection of ruling coalition will help companies to build or extend nuclear power plants.

Chancellor Angela Merkel ran the campaign to extend the life of nuclear powered plants and cut taxes by €15 billion.

Eurazeo SA an investment company rose 2.2% to €40.53 and HeidelbergCement AG the cement maker fell 1.5% to €41.65.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG the maker of printing presses increased 9.6% to €7.48.

Ingenico SA climbed 2.7% to €17.75 after the maker of payment terminals was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Oddo Securities.

K+S AG rose 0.3% to €36.98 after the chemical maker completed the sale of €750 million bonds with the maturity date between 2009 and 2014.

Le Belier SA added 7.8% to €5.3% after the maker of aluminum parts for automobiles and aviation industry said first-half net loss declined to €2 million from €2.8 million a year ago.

Michelin SCA the tiremaker dropped 0.9% to €54.02.

NicOx SA fell 4.8% to €9.29 after the biotechnology company was downgraded to “reduce” from “buy” at Natixis.

Publicis Groupe S.A decreased 0.2% to €27.42.

Securidev SA decreased 3.4% to €17.38 after the manufacturer of locking systems and equipments said first-half sales rose 25.7% to €87.04 million from €69.27 million a year ago. Net profit in the first-half was €5.41 million compared to net loss of €0.46 million a year ago.

Siemens AG rose 1.6% to €64.56 after the electronics and electrical equipment maker gained in the market rally.

Stada Arzneimittel AG surged 12% to €18.70 after the Social Democratic Party lost the election which had led the policy to lower drug prices by forcing them to bid for a larger contract from a group of insurers.

Vallourec SA fell 1.7% to €114.40 after the maker of steel tubes for oil and gas production said operating margin will decline significantly in the coming quarters though the seamless tube maker will not post losses its chief executive said in a newspaper interview.

DAX Index Movers

Deutsche Boerse AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 0.78% followed by losses in SAP AG of 0.36%.

Commerzbank AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 5.33% followed by increase in Bayer AG of 5.07%, in Volkswagen AG of 4.24%, in RWE AG of 3.93%, in Siemens AG & Co. of 3.79%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Essilor International SA led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 0.98%.

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 4.78% followed by gainers in Societe Generale SA of 4.66%, STMicroelectronics N.V. of 4.05%, in ArcelorMittal of 4.03%, in Lafarge SA of 3.55%.