European Markets, Euro Gain; Sanofi Net Up 12.5%

Mayank Mehta
10 Feb, 2010
New York City

European indexes closed higher ahead of the EU summit and a prospect of a Greek bailout. However, Greece may face tough conditions for any financial assistance. January passenger traffic increased at Fraport AG. PSA Peugeot Citroen full year revenues dropped 11%.

[R]7:00 PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European indexes closed higher ahead of the EU summit and a prospect of a Greek bailout. However, Greece may face tough conditions for any financial assistance. January passenger traffic increased at Fraport AG. PSA Peugeot Citroen full year revenues dropped 11%.[/R]

European markets and the euro close higher as investors await the details of Greece financial assistance.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou met French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris today. After the meeting Papandreou talked to reporters and said that his country does no need a bailout but a support while Greece implements deficit reduction plan.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 20.15 or 0.39% to 5,131.99, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 22.85 or 0.63% to close at 3,635.61, in Frankfurt DAX index higher 38.11 or 0.69% to close at 5,536.37. In Zurich trading SMI increased 19.24 or 0.30% to close at 6,333.99.

The ASE Index of Greece increased 2.4% and National Bank of Greece surged 4.4% to €14.40. In Lisbon, PSI 20 Index increased 1.8% to 7,631.94.

EU leaders are scheduled to meet tomorrow and are expected to finalize the details of the plan. Markus Ferber, a member of ruling party governing block in Germany said in the European Parliament that he favors a bilateral approach with Greece and any help will come with “tough pre-conditions.”

Gainers & Losers

ArcelorMittal dropped 5.3% to €39.46 after the global steel producer said fourth quarter revenues fell 16% to $18.6 billion from $22.1 billion a year ago. Net profit for the quarter was $1.07 billion or 68 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $2.63 billion or $1.93 per share a year ago.

Douglas Holding AG rose 1.3% to €33.69 after the stock was upgraded to “add” from “neutral” at WestLB.

EDF Energies Nouvelles SA rose 5.2% to €35.98 after the production of electricity through renewable energy sources said full-year profit rose 39% to €97.9 million on expansion of wind and solar energy projects.

Fraport AG increased 4.6% to €36.80 after the Frankfurt based airport said January passenger count increased 3.5% from a year ago to 3.7 million.

Fortis increased 6.1% to €2.56 on the expectations that the EU bailout will lifts bonds of Spain, Greece and Portugal. Fortis holds 18.2 billion of bonds including Italy and three nations.

PSA Peugeot Citroen S.A dropped 2.6% to €21.71 after the manufacturer of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles said full-year revenues fell 11% to €48.42 billion from €54.36 billion a year ago. Net loss for the full-year was €1.16 billion or €5.12 per share compared to net loss of €363 million or €1.60 per share a year ago.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech SA the maker of plastic bags climbed 3.8% to €32.77.

Sanofi-Aventis rose 1.4% to €53.42 after the pharmaceutical group said fourth quarter sales rose 3.7% to €7.36 billion from €7.1 billion a year ago. Net profit for the quarter rose 12.5% to €1.8 billion or €1.37 per diluted share compared to net loss of €1.6 billion or €1.25 per share a year ago.

SMT Scharf AG which designs systems for the transport of equipment and material rose 1.6% to €10.10.

Societe Generale SA climbed 4.0% to €41.12 after the stock was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at MF Global.

DAX Index Movers

Salzgitter AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 3.25%, followed by losses in ThyssenKrupp AG of 3.03%, in Metro AG of 1.72%, in Siemens AG of 1.26%, and in MAN SE of 1.25%.

Volkswagen AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 1.80%, followed by losses in Deutsche Lufthansa AG of 1.71%, in Deutsche Bank AG of 0.82%, in Muenchener Rue AG of 0.70%, and in Bayer AG of 0.68%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

ArcelorMittal led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 6.94%, followed by losses in PSA Peugeot Citroen S.A. of 4.93%, in Alstom SA of 2.19%, in Renault SA of 1.59% and in Cap Gemini SA of 1.45%.

Societe Generale SA gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 4.26%, followed by gainers in Credit Agricole SA of 3.89%, in BNP Paribas SA of 3.11%, in AXA of 2.98% and in STMicroelectronics N.V. of 2.36%.