European Markets Advance; K+S Offering

Mayank Mehta
11 Dec, 2009
New York City

European markets closed higher. Club Mediterranee posts fiscal-year loss. Thales SA plans to save

[R]7:00 PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European markets closed higher. Club Mediterranee posts fiscal-year loss. Thales SA plans to save €1.3 billion in the next five years. K+S AG completed its offering to raise $1 billion.[/R]

European markets closed higher on a rally in resource stocks and commodities. China reported a surge in industrial production, sustained imports and a rise consumer prices.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 17.20 or 0.33% to 5,261.57, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 5.34 or 0.14% to close at 3,803.72, in Frankfurt DAX index higher 47.27 or 0.83% to close at 5,756.29. In Zurich trading SMI increased 0.94 or 0.01% to close at 6,411.58.

U.S. retail sales in November increased 1.3% strengthening trading sentiment.

Gainers & Losers

BASF SE the chemical maker advanced 2.0% to €43.11.

Club Mediterranee SA added 3.7% to €14.44 after the vacation club operator and travel organizer said full-year sales fell 8% to €1.36 billion from €1.48 billion a year ago. Net loss in the full-year was €53 million compared to net profit of €2 million a year ago.

Deutsche Bank AG the lender rose 0.5% to €48.49.

Entrepose Contracting SA the builder of pipelines and storage facilities advanced 4.3% to €59.50.

Fraport AG gained 1.7% to €35.07 and a day after the airport operator released its traffic statistics was upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral” at HSBC Holdings Plc.

K+S AG increased 1.6% to €42.25 after it company completed the offering to raise €690 million.

Linde AG added 2.7% to €84.62 after the maker of industrial gases was upgraded to “overweight” from “equal- weight” at Morgan Stanley.

Sartorius AG closed unchanged at €16.60 after the maker of laboratory scales and filtering equipment reappointed its current chief executive Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, by another 5-year period to November 10, 2015.

STADA Arzneimittel AG fell 1.6% to €25.94 after the generic-drug maker was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research.

Thales SA increased 7.2% to €35.19 after the defense-electronics maker completed its planning for reorganization to cut costs.

ThyssenKrupp AG climbed 1.7% to €25.05 after the resource stocks rallied on a strong surge in industrial production in China and steady commodities imports.

Volkswagen AG added 1.2% to 81.67 after the company said November group sales increased 19% from a year ago to 531,300 vehicles.

DAX Index Movers

Commerzbank AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 1.41%, followed by losses in Infineon Technologies AG of 0.90%, in ThyssenKrupp AG of 0.73%, in MAN SE of 0.70%, and in Deutsche Bank AG of 0.66%.

Linde AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 2.95% followed by increase in Henkel AG of 2.92%, in Deutsche Lufthansa AG of 2.09%, in Allianz SE of 1.99%, and in Bayer AG of 1.84%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Credit Agricole SA led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 1.81%, followed by losses in Dexia SA of 1.75%, in AXA of 1.64%, in Unibail-Rodamco SA of 1.40%, and in Vallourec SA of 1.23%.

PSA Peugeot Citroen S.A gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 2.33% followed by gainers in Suez Environnement SA of 2.20%, in Air Liquide SA of 2.04%, in EADS NV of 1.98%, and in LVMH SA of 1.87%.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 69 increased, 31 declined and 2 were unchanged.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 3.44% followed by losses in London Stock Exchange Group Plc of 2.66%, in The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc of 2.49%, in Man Group Plc of 1.93%, and in Home Retail Group Plc of 1.84%.

WPP Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 3.98% followed by increase in Thomas Cook Group Plc of 3.94%, in TUI Travel Plc of 3.39%, in Vedanta Resources Plc of 3.24%, and in Whitbread Plc of 3.10%.