European Markets Firm; Auto Sales Data

Mayank Mehta
02 Dec, 2009
New York City

European markets closed higher as confidence returns in stocks. BMW Group November U.S. auto sales decreased 7.5%, Volkswagen sales increased 23.6% and Daimler AG sales increased 9.1%. Deutsche Boerse November trading volume fell 21% to

[R]7:00 PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European markets closed higher as confidence returns in stocks. BMW Group November U.S. auto sales decreased 7.5%, Volkswagen sales increased 23.6% and Daimler AG sales increased 9.1%. Deutsche Boerse November trading volume fell 21% to €96.5 billion.[/R]

European markets edged higher as commodities rallied and world markets regained their footings and closed up for the third day in a row. Dubai World loan crisis which roiled markets last week is still hovering but the fears of wider contagion spreading to emerging markets for now are ebbing.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 15.22 or 0.29% to 5,327.39, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 20.18 or 0.53% to close at 3,795.92, in Frankfurt DAX index higher 5.07 or 0.09% to close at 5,781.68. In Zurich trading SMI increased 14.46 or 0.23% to close at 6,386.54.

German banks and financial stocks declined after the government said that it may have to regulation to increase lending to businesses. Commerzbank declined nearly 3% and Deutsche Bank fell 1.4%.

Gainers & Losers

Aeroports de Paris SA the airport group decreased 0.2% to €53.68.

Auplata SA the gold producer advanced 8.6% to €4.89.

BMW AG fell 1.1% to €22.08 after the luxury-car maker said November U.S. vehicle sales decreased 7.5% to 18,272 vehicles from the 19,762 vehicles sold a year ago.

Bouygues SA decreased 0.6% to €34.73 after the infrastructure company said which is swapping a stake in a unit of Alstom SA for more shares of the overall company, aims for its stake in the company to remain around 30%.

Commerzbank AG fell 2.2% to €6.19 after the bank has completed the acquisition of Dresdner Bank''s Global Agency Securities business from bank.

Daimler AG increased 0.3% to €35.22 after the maker of luxury cars said U.S. sales for the month of November sales rose 9.1%. The company also plans to shift its C-class car production to Alabama, U.S. and take advantage of weakening dollar.

Deutsche Bank AG slipped 2.8% to €48.23.

Deutsche Telekom AG rose 0.8% to €10.28 after the phone company said business services division T-Systems Ltd. said Wednesday that it has secured a five-year contract to provide telecommunications services to energy giant BP PLC.

Neopost SA declined 0.5% to €57.68 after the maker of mailroom equipment confirmed 2009 to match that in 2008 while current operating income should reach at least 25.7% of revenue. The Company reported full year 2008 revenue of €918.1 million.

PPR SA the retailer rose 0.5% to €82.59.

Pfleiderer AG fell 2.7% to €7.05 after the laminate-flooring maker said that its subsidiary Wodego has been chosen by Wolf, a German builder of system houses, as a partner for construction work in LAquila, Italy.

Remy Cointreau SA rose 1.8% to €34.97 after the liquor company was upgraded to “overweight” from “underweight” at Morgan Stanley.

Schneider Electric SA rose 1.4% to €76.74 and the specialist in electricity distribution and automation management launched EcoStruxure to boost energy efficiency.

Valeo SA increased 5.6% to €20.90 after the auto-parts supplier was upgraded “overweight” at Morgan Stanley.

Volkswagen AG fell 0.6% to €80.90 after the carmaker said sales of vehicles in November increased 23.6% from a year ago to 16,250 units.

DAX Index Movers

Commerzbank AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 3.92%, followed by losses in SAP AG of 3.29%, in Volkswagen AG of 3.12%, in Deutsche Boerse AG of 2.29%, Deutsche Bank AG of 1.77%.

BASF SE led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 2.26% followed by increase in Bayer AG of 1.89%, in Beiersdorf AG of 1.58%, in Deutsche Telekom AG of 1.47%, K+S AG of 1.42%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Cap Gemini SA led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 1.70%, followed by losses in Credit Agricole SA of 1.63%, in Bouygues SA of 1.56%, in Dexia SA of 1.43%, BNP Paribas SA of 1.26%.

LVMH SA gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 2.85% followed by gainers in Lagardere SCA of 2.35%, in Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA of 2.12%, in Carrefour SA of 2.03%, in Renault SA of 1.90%.