European Markets Decline; VW Drops 6%

Mayank Mehta
24 Nov, 2009
New York City

European markets closed lower and banks led the decliners in the region. The confidence index increased in Germany and was unchanged in France. Daimler AG signs two joint venture agreements with a Russian truck maker.

[R]7:00 PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European markets closed lower and banks led the decliners in the region. The confidence index increased in Germany and was unchanged in France. Daimler AG signs two joint venture agreements with a Russian truck maker.[/R]

German business climate index in November increased to 93.9 from 92 in October based on a survey of 7,000 executives conducted by the Ifo Institute in Munich.

French Statistics office Insee said November confidence index among manufacturing executives was unchanged at 89 from the previous month.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 31.54 or 0.59% to 5,323.96, in Paris CAC 40 Index decreased 28.55 or 0.75% to close at 3,784.62, in Frankfurt DAX index lower 32.17 or 0.55% to close at 5,769.31. In Zurich trading SMI decreased 12.71 or 0.20% to close at 6,397.53.

Gainers & Losers

Adidas AG the sporting- goods maker fell 0.3% to €36.34.

Axel Springer Verlag AG slipped 0.1% to €75.71 afnd the newspaper company launched new paid-for multimedia magazine.

Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG advanced 2.6% to €38.18 after the maker of equipment to produce solar silicon and modules was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research.

CeWe Color Holding AG decreased 0.7% to €22.66 after the photofinishing company said third quarter sales fell 4.7% to €112.2 million from €117.7 million a year ago. Net profit in the quarter rose 2.5% to €12.2 million or €1.79 per diluted share compared to net profit of €11.9 million or €1.71 per share a year ago.

Daimler AG rose 0.8% to €35.96 after the maker of luxury cars said Tuesday it has signed agreements with Russian truckmaker KamAZ to establish two joint ventures. Each of the two partners will own 50% of the joint ventures.

Hornbach Holding AG fell 1.1% to €66.48 after the home-improvement retailer was upgraded to “add” from “hold” at Commerzbank AG.

Inter Parfums SA the perfume designer dropped 0.2% to €18.70.

JCDecaux SA closed unchanged at €15.60 after the seller of outdoor advertising said its unit specializing in airport advertising has won a contract to operate the advertising space outside Biarritz Anglet Bayonne Airport at Biarritz, France for a period of seven years.

Legrand SA declined 6.2% to €18.66 after the electrical installations and information networks said U.S. Investment group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and French investment company Wendel SA said Tuesday they have successfully placed 30 million of the shares at €18.50 each.

Nordex AG added 0.3% to €10.94 after the maker of wind energy systems said third quarter sales fell 4.3% to €301.5 million from €315.2 million a year ago. Net profit in the quarter fell 48% to €7.8 million or €0.12 per diluted share compared to net profit of €15.1 million or €0.23 per share a year ago.

Pfleiderer AG declined 2.4% to €7.14 after the producer and supplier of engineered wood products said third quarter sales fell 20.4% to €347.3 million from €436.4 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was €21.8 million or €0.43 per diluted share compared to net profit of €11.2 million or €0.22 per share a year ago.

Vivendi SA dropped 1.2% to €19.01 after the telecommunications services and media entertainment said that its subsidiary Groupe Canal+ agreed to buy the 9.9% stake in Canal+ France owned by TF1 Television Francaise SA, for €744 million.

Volkswagen AG decreased 5.6% to €89.04 ahead of its bond offering to finance the purchase of a stake in Porsche SE.

DAX Index Movers

Volkswagen AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 5.52%, followed by losses in Commerzbank AG of 3.75%, in Deutsche Bank AG of 2.43%, in MAN SE of 1.83%, BMW AG of 1.64%.

Infineon Technologies AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 2.04% followed by increase in Bayer AG of 1.12%, in K+S AG of 0.87%, in Henkel AG of 0.83%, Salzgitter AG of 0.73%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Alcatel Lucent led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 4.29%, followed by losses in Societe Generale SA of 3.23%, in BNP Paribas SA of 2.63%, in EADS NV of 2.00%, AXA of 1.99%.

Carrefour SA gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 3.09% followed by gainers in L''Oreal SA of 0.69%, in Pernod Ricard SA of 0.66%, in Cap Gemini SA of 0.45%, in Renault SA of 0.18%.