|
Dow bulls give bourses bounce
|
 |
July 5, 1999: 8:52 a.m. ET
European markets modestly up on Wall Street records, strong Nikkei showing
|
LONDON (CNNfn) - European markets opened on a firm footing Monday, supported by Wall Street's bullish fortunes and a rally in Japanese stocks to a 21-month high.
Despite a giant bid in the oil sector, regional trading activity is likely to remain subdued Monday as U.S. markets close for the Independence Day public holiday.
Germany's electronic Xetra Dax started with a new year-high after the robust performances in Asia, where the Nikkei surged above the 18,000 mark for the first time since September 1997. The blue chip index was up 0.9 percent, at 5,568.48 amid healthy gains in auto stocks after several carmakers recently reported string rises in U.S. sales.
Zurich's SMI was up 0.6 percent, or 42 points, at 7,248.4, driven by Asia's robust showing and a triple-record finish on Wall Street Friday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 72.82 to a new high of 11,139.24. Both the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 index also hit new peaks.
London's benchmark gauge, the FTSE 100, is seen rising anywhere from 30 to 40 points, buoyed by a strong business survey in Japan showing an upswing in confidence that could help lift the country out of its financial morass.
Takeover talk is set to dominate the European trading day, most prominently in the oil sector, the latest focus of consolidation amid a recent recovery in crude oil prices.
Franco-Belgian giant TotalFina (PFP) launched a 42 billion euro ($43.7 billion) bid for French rival Elf Aquitaine (PAQ) Monday that Total said would result in the elimination of 4,000 jobs, half of them in France.
The offer represented a 15 percent premium over Elf's Friday closing share price at 145.90. TotalFina said a merger would yield pretax cost savings, on an annual basis, of 1.2 billion euros over a three-year period.
In the brewing industry, the board of Allied Domecq (ALLD) was set Monday to consider rival bids for its 3,600-strong pubs and retail business from Whitbread (WTB) and Punch Taverns. Punch Taverns on Monday said it planned to raise its offer to 2.925 billion pounds ($4.61 billion) from 2.85 billion pounds to counter Whitbread's 2.9 billion pound cash-and-share offer made Friday.
In the telecommunications sector, Cable & Wireless (CW) may attract attention after announcing plans to buy a British Internet services provider, Internet Network Services group, for an unspecified sum.
Separately, London's Sunday Times reported that at least four telecom companies are vying to buy Cable & Wireless, but that C&W had rejected the tentative approaches.
Auto stocks in Frankfurt posted modest gains early Monday. BMW (FBMW) was up 0.3 percent, at 691.00 euros, DaimlerChrysler shares edged up 0.6 percent to 86.40 euros, and Volkswagen (FVOW) climbed 0.8 percent to 62.20.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
