German GDP Shrinks 5% in 2009; Stocks Mixed

Mayank Mehta
13 Jan, 2010
New York City

European markets closed mixed and commodities prices declined. Portugal, Germany and Italy raised

[R]7:00 PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European markets closed mixed and commodities prices declined. Portugal, Germany and Italy raised €16.3 billion in government bond sale. German gross domestic product declined 5% in 2009 after increasing 1.3% in the previous year. Economy appears to have stagnated in the last quarter.[/R]

German gross domestic product declined 5% in 2009 after increasing at 1.3% in 2008 according to the latest report released by the Federal Statistics Office.

One euro fetched $1.4501 and one pound traded at $1.6258.

U.S. Treasury is scheduled to complete its $21 billion offering today of the $84 billion of bond sales this week and the governments of Germany, Italy and Portugal sold 16.3 billion euros of debt today.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 25.23 or 0.46% to 5,473.48, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 0.81 or 0.02% to close at 4,000.86, in Frankfurt DAX index higher 20.14 or 0.34% to close at 5,963.14. In Zurich trading SMI increased 12.65 or 0.19% to close at 6,554.55.

UK factory production in November was flat compared to October according to the data released by the Office for National Statistics.

Gainers & Losers

Alcatel Lucent SA added 0.5% to €2.55 after the telecom networks was downgraded to “reduce” from “neutral” at Nomura Holdings Inc.

Alstom SA increased 1.6% to €52.94 after the maker of high-speed trains to “buy” from “neutral” at Bank of America Corp.

Bayer AG rose 1.4% to €54.08 after the drugmaker reported that the U.S. Food and Drug administration has warned several pharmaceutical companies, including the company, Eli Lilly and Bayer AG for either overstating the medicines effectiveness or not disclosing appropriate risks.

BMW AG the luxury auto maker rose 0.1% to €31.30.

CropEnergies AG rose 2.6% to €4.11 after the producer of bio-ethanol said third quarter sales rose 18% to €280.3 million from €237.5 million a year ago. Operating earnings in the quarter rose 36% to €9.5 million compared to €7.0 million a year ago.

Deutsche Postbank AG rose 0.4% to €24.29 after the bank was upgraded to “neutral” at Deutsche Bank AG.

Douglas Holding AG fell 0.09% to €33.30 after the makeup and perfume retailer said full-year sales rose 2.3% to €3.2 billion from €3.13 billion a year ago. Net profit in the year fell 35% to €62.8 million or €1.6 per diluted share compared to net profit of €97.1 million or €2.5 per share a year ago.

Groupe Eurotunnel SA rose 1.5% to €7.05 after the company was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Deutsche Bank AG.

GDF Suez SA fell 0.3% to €30.09 after the stock was downgraded to “neutral” from “outperform” at Exane BNP Paribas.

Metro AG increased 0.5% to €24.32 after the retailer was upgraded “overweight” at HSBC Holdings Plc.

Renault SA gained 1.6% to €39.00 and the carmaker is planning to sell a new five-year, euro-denominated, benchmark bond, according to Dow Jones.

Schneider Electric SA slipped 1.0% to €78.54 after the maker of power distribution and automation systems was lowered to “neutral” from “buy” at UBS AG.

Siemens AG the engineering and technology company rose 0.8% to €66.85.

Societe Generale SA dropped 3.8% to €49.67 and the Canadian investment manager RBC Global Asset Management hired former Société Générale Asset Management emerging market head Philippe Langham as a portfolio manager.

Suess MicroTec AG added 0.4% to €4.42 after the semiconductor equipment maker today announced the conclusion of contract negotiations to acquire HamaTech APE GmbH & Co. KG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singulus Technologies AG for €9 million.

Valeo SA fell 0.4% to €25.80 after the auto-parts supplier has appointed Robert Charvier as chief financial officer.

Virbac SA dropped 0.1% to €71.67 after the maker of animal vaccines and health-care products for pets announced that it has entered into an agreement with Pfizer Inc. to acquire certain veterinary products and related assets, including a manufacturing facility, in Australia.

Volkswagen AG edged up 0.4% to €74.04, PSA Peugeot Citroen inched up 0.6% to €26.13 and Fiat increased 0.5% to 10.75. European automakers are looking to expand in emerging markets as sales in Europe stagnate. European automakers may have as much as 50% production overcapacity according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers analyst Calum MacRae.

Xiring SA climbed 7.3% to €12.20 after the software developer announced that it expects to report full year 2010 revenue of €20 million, 14% increase on a comparable basis and a target of an operating income exceeding 14%.

DAX Index Movers

Volkswagen AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 3.03%, followed by losses in Salzgitter AG of 1.74%, in Deutsche Bank AG of 1.49%, in Adidas AG of 1.00%, and in E.ON AG of 0.49%.

Infineon Technologies AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 3.80% followed by increase in K+S AG of 2.45%, in Bayer AG of 2.13%, in ThyssenKrupp AG of 1.99%, and in SAP AG of 1.73%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Societe Generale SA led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 2.86%, followed by losses in GDF Suez SA of 1.32%, in Credit Agricole SA of 1.24%, in Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA of 1.13%, and in Total S.A. of 1.08%.

Carrefour SA gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 3.13% followed by gainers in Renault SA of 2.95%, in PPR S.A. of 2.82%, in Michelin SCA of 1.76%, and in L''Oreal SA.of 1.50%.