European shares rise after Wall Street, Asia gains

LONDON - European stock markets rallied in morning deals on Wednesday, driven upwards by takeover speculation and auto stocks, and following gains to US and Asian share prices, dealers said.

By (AFP)

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Published: Wed 27 Dec 2006, 5:27 PM

Last updated: Sat 4 Apr 2015, 1:05 PM

European trading was resumed after a two-day break for the Christmas holiday.

London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.89 percent to reach 6,244.80 points, in Frankfurt the DAX 30 surged 1.37 percent to 6,592.21 points and the Paris CAC 40 climbed 1.18 percent to 5,518.44.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip shares increased 1.05 percent to 4,116.17 points.

The euro stood at 1.3151 dollars.

The year 2006 has seen Frankfurt, London and Paris trade around their highest levels for more than five years.

On Friday, the previous European trading day, the FTSE 100 had closed at 6,190 points, marking a gain of 10.17 percent compared with the close on December 30, 2005.

The German market is up about 20 percent so far this year, while the CAC 40 in Paris is around 16 percent higher.

US stocks meanwhile rebounded on Tuesday from three losing sessions as a sharp drop in oil prices added fuel to a post-Christmas rally, dealers said.

Hong Kong’s key Hang Seng Index struck a record-high close on Wednesday, while Japanese share prices ended up also.

In London, Intercontinental Hotels was the top FTSE 100 riser, soaring 6.82 percent to 1,300 pence, as talk of a private equity bid of 1,500 pence per share continued to excite.

Press reports over the long Christmas weekend highlighted several potential predators including oft-rumoured suitor Permira, fellow private equity group Starwood Capital and a Dubai-based consortium.

Auto stocks meanwhile jumped in Frankfurt and Paris.

Car giant DaimlerChrysler climbed 2.02 percent to 47.03 euros on reports late Friday that its US unit Chrysler is to unveil a new restructuring plan when it releases its earnings for 2006 in February, dealers said.

Elsewhere, BMW won 2.37 percent to 43.59 euros, Peugeot increased 2.34 percent to 49.34 euros and Renault advanced 1.99 percent to 89.9 euros.

In New York on Tuesday, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.52 percent to close at 12,407.63 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite increased 0.51 percent to 2,413.51.

The broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index added 0.44 percent to 1,416.90 points.

With market action light after a three-day Christmas holiday, investors focused on news suggesting consumer spending was healthy for the Christmas season, a positive sign for the economy.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s key Hang Seng Index jumped 2.10 percent to a record high finish of 19,725.73 points on Wednesday, as China financials tracked strong gains on the mainland’s markets on hopes that a new tax policy will improve their earnings, dealers said.

The previous all-time high was hit last Friday at 19,320.52.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 meanwhile climbed 0.31 percent to close at 17,223.15 points on Wednesday.

Dealers said Japanese share prices continued to be supported by the strong dollar, which boosts Japanese exporters, and by growing expectations that the central bank will not hike interest rates soon.


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