04/10/2004 13:20
Europe’s bourses continued their Friday climb on Monday buoyed further by a strong start to the fourth quarter on Wall Street. Helping the advance was a retreat in oil futures following a ceasefire in Nigeria over the weekend.
“American and British shares were marked sharply higher on Friday - the start of the new quarter - as fund managers piled in in anticipation of a strong run through to Christmas,” Gary Parkinson of Financial Spreads said.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.9 per cent to 1,013.87, with the Frankfurt Xetra Dax driving 1.4 per cent higher at 4,050.39 and the Paris CAC-40 1 per cent up at 3,766.07. The FTSE in London, with its defensive nature and single technology stock, rose a lesser 0.7 per cent to 4,689.9.
On Wall Street indices managed to finish last week higher, but that did not become apparent until Friday, when the onset of the fourth quarter and an eagerly awaited easing of crude oil prices brought buyers in from the sidelines.
By Friday’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 1.1 per cent to 10,193.40 to be up 1.5 per cent for the week. The S&P500 index gained 1.5 per cent to 1,131.24, tacking on 1.9 per cent for the week. The Nasdaq Composite gained 2.4 per cent to 1,942.04 - a two-month high - for a weekly gain of 3.3 per cent. See more on Wall Street
With crude prices at record levels British oil behemoth BP saw third-quarter production rise by 11 per cent, but slightly less than the 14 per cent forecast, to was 3.88bn barrels of oil equivalent. Production was hit by storms in the Caribbean. The shares turned around early losses to rise 0.6 per cent to 542.75p. Refining margins were higher on the year but down from the second quarter. The oil company said it would continue its share buyback programme. BP, the world’s second biggest oil company, is also the largest stock on the FTSE 100.
Ahold, the troubled Dutch retailer, sold its network of almost 600 Spanish retail stores to Permira, the private equity group, for around €685m. The stock climbed 3.4 percent to €5.50.
Chip stocks roared ahead helped by JP Morgan’s view the chip sector bottomed in the third quarter and the Nasdaq’s 2.4 per cent advance on Friday, with ASML, the chip making equipment maker, up 3.5 per cent to €11.10 and Infineon, the German chip manufacturer, up 3.1 per cent to €8.75.
The car sector also continued its Friday advance with DaimlerChrysler 1.9 per cent ahead at €32.16 and tyre makers Michelin 2.3 per cent up at €43 and Continental up 2.1 per cent to €45.47.
“American and British shares were marked sharply higher on Friday - the start of the new quarter - as fund managers piled in in anticipation of a strong run through to Christmas,” Gary Parkinson of Financial Spreads said.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.9 per cent to 1,013.87, with the Frankfurt Xetra Dax driving 1.4 per cent higher at 4,050.39 and the Paris CAC-40 1 per cent up at 3,766.07. The FTSE in London, with its defensive nature and single technology stock, rose a lesser 0.7 per cent to 4,689.9.
On Wall Street indices managed to finish last week higher, but that did not become apparent until Friday, when the onset of the fourth quarter and an eagerly awaited easing of crude oil prices brought buyers in from the sidelines.
By Friday’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 1.1 per cent to 10,193.40 to be up 1.5 per cent for the week. The S&P500 index gained 1.5 per cent to 1,131.24, tacking on 1.9 per cent for the week. The Nasdaq Composite gained 2.4 per cent to 1,942.04 - a two-month high - for a weekly gain of 3.3 per cent. See more on Wall Street
With crude prices at record levels British oil behemoth BP saw third-quarter production rise by 11 per cent, but slightly less than the 14 per cent forecast, to was 3.88bn barrels of oil equivalent. Production was hit by storms in the Caribbean. The shares turned around early losses to rise 0.6 per cent to 542.75p. Refining margins were higher on the year but down from the second quarter. The oil company said it would continue its share buyback programme. BP, the world’s second biggest oil company, is also the largest stock on the FTSE 100.
Ahold, the troubled Dutch retailer, sold its network of almost 600 Spanish retail stores to Permira, the private equity group, for around €685m. The stock climbed 3.4 percent to €5.50.
Chip stocks roared ahead helped by JP Morgan’s view the chip sector bottomed in the third quarter and the Nasdaq’s 2.4 per cent advance on Friday, with ASML, the chip making equipment maker, up 3.5 per cent to €11.10 and Infineon, the German chip manufacturer, up 3.1 per cent to €8.75.
The car sector also continued its Friday advance with DaimlerChrysler 1.9 per cent ahead at €32.16 and tyre makers Michelin 2.3 per cent up at €43 and Continental up 2.1 per cent to €45.47.
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