Retail Sales in Europe Fell; Praktiker Drops 6%

Mayank Mehta
07 Jan, 2010
New York City

European retail sales fell in November as the economic recovery is still fragile. The Bank of England kept its rates and bond purchase program in place. The ECB and central bank in Switzerland has already begun to unwind their bond purchase programs. Continental AG plan to raise

[R]7:00PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European retail sales fell in November as the economic recovery is uneven and still fragile. The Bank of England kept its rates and bond purchase program in place. The ECB and central bank in Switzerland has already begun to unwind their bond purchase programs. Continental AG plan to raise €1.1 billion.[/R]

Retail trade sales in November fell 1.2% compared to October in euro area EA16 and 0.8% in the EU27. Compared with November 2008 retail sales index decline 4% in the euro area and 2.1% in the EU27.

The Bank of England left its key lending rate at 0.5% and kept intact its government bond purchase program at 200 billion pounds.

Separately, mortgage lender Halifax said UK home prices increased 1% in December and increased 1.1% in the year compared to 2008 and increased 5.6% from a year ago. Society of Motor Manufacturers said new car sales surged 39% in December as the government provided incentives to exchange old cars.

The pound edged lower to close at $1.592 and to €1.111 and one euro fetched $1.412.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 3.32 or 0.06% to 5,526.72, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 7.13 or 0.18% to close at 4,024.80, in Frankfurt DAX index lower 14.97 or 0.25% to close at 6,019.36. In Zurich trading SMI decreased 4.05 or 0.06% to close at 6,555.36.

Gainers & Losers

Akka Technologies SA the engineering consulting company added 5.2% to €12.92.

aleo solar AG rose 0.8% to €9.30 after the manufacturer of solar modules said that the company generated revenue of €375 million in 2009. After a slow first six months, business picked up considerably from July, leading to a €15 million year-on-year increase in revenue.

Bonduelle SCA advanced 1.1% to €80.87 and the processed and fresh-vegetable producer and Butler Capital Partners have announced the start of their exclusive talks over the transfer of France Champignon group, located in Saumur in the Loire Valley.

Credit Agricole SA declined 1.2% to €13.07 after the bank was downgraded to “market-perform” from “outperform” at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Continental AG gained 7.0% to €43.56 after the auto-parts maker plans to raise nearly €1.1 billion $1.6 billion through a capital increase to repay debt.

Deutsche Telekom AG slipped 2.0% to €10.05 after the mobile phone network operators has called for the proposed merger between Orange and T-Mobile to be investigated by UK regulators rather than EU regulators.

EDF Energies Nouvelles SA rose 0.1% to €38.10 after the renewable power company said it has commissioned two new wind farms in southern France with a total capacity of 38 megawatts.

Havas increased 4.6% to €3.01 after the owner of the Euro RSCG Worldwide advertising agency was upgraded to “conviction buy” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

JCDecaux SA gained 3.4% to €18.09 after the seller of outdoor advertising was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs.

Lagardere SCA fell 3.7% to €27.68 after the publisher was downgraded to “sell” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs.

OHB Technology AG increased 8.3% to €13.70 after the aerospace company is expected to receive a contract from the European Commission for at fourteen satellites for its Galileo satellite navigation system.

Patrizia Immobilien AG the property investor rose 2.7% to €3.24.

Praktiker Bau und Heimwerkermaerkte Holding AG decreased 6.2% to €7.23 after the home-improvement retailer said fourth quarter sales fell 10.3% to €800 million from €892 million a year ago. German sales fell 6.9% to €549 million from €590 million a year ago. International sales fell 17% to €251 million from €302 million a year ago.

Schneider Electric SA fell 1.9% to €79.63 after the electrical engineering company was downgraded to “neutral” from “overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Societe Television Francaise 1 advanced 1.0% to €13.70 after the French TV network was upgraded to “neutral” from “sell” at Goldman Sachs.

Sodexo SA dropped 2.4% to €40.97 after the catering company was downgraded to “neutral” from “outperform’ ‘at Exane BNP Paribas.

VBH Holding AG climbed 4.0% to €4.16 after the wholesaler of window fittings was upgraded “overweight” in new coverage at HSBC Holdings Plc.

Volkswagen AG rose 0.5% to €75.30 and the automaker retained its position as the largest passenger vehicle maker in China in 2009 but lagged the competitors in the unit sales growth.

DAX Index Movers

Metro AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 4.01%, followed by losses in Infineon Technologies AG of 1.90%, in Henkel AG of 1.63%, in Deutsche Telekom AG of 1.61%, and in Diamler AG of 1.37%.

Commerzbank AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 4.36% followed by increase in SAP AG of 3.11%, in Salzgitter AG of 2.46%, in Merck KGaA of 2.32%, and in Deutsche Lufthansa AG of 1.82%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Lagardere SCA led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 2.40%, followed by losses in Bouygues SA of 1.37%, in Electricité de France of 1.34%, in STMicroelectronics N.V. of 1.28%, and in France Telecom S.A. of 1.25%.

Technip gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 3.36% followed by gainers in Societe Generale SA of 2.78%, in Alcatel Lucent of 1.98%, in ArcelorMittal of 1.84%, and in BNP Paribas SA of 1.75%.