09/09/2003 12:06
Continental European bourses started positively on Tuesday ahead of a mid-quarter update from mobile phone giant Nokia, but London eased back from its high of the previous session.
The FTSE Eurotop 300 slipped 0.1 per cent to 923.7. The Frankfurt Dax started 0.5 per cent higher at 3,658.9 and France's CAC 40 rose 0.3 per cent to 3,419.6 but London's FTSE 100 drifted 0.1 per cent lower to 4,286.3.
An upgrade for IBM helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average climb 82.95 points by the closing bell to 9,586.29. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.6 per cent to an 18-month high, while the S&P 500 index added 10.25 to 1,031.64. See more on Wall Street
Share prices in Japan leapt to a new 14-month high after a leading brokerage advised its clients to increase their holdings of Japanese stocks. The Nikkei Average closed up 2.2 per cent to 10,922.04. See more on Tokyo stocks
Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile handsets, rose 2.2 per cent ahead of a third quarter update due at 0900 GMT. In July the world's largest mobile phone maker warned third-quarter earnings would fall year-on-year due to a weak euro against the dollar and consumers' unwillingness to buy pricey handset models.
Richemont jumped 5.4 per cent as the world's second largest luxury goods maker reported better-than-expected sales. The company said a recovery in Asia post-Sars helped limit a sales slide to 16 per cent in the last five months. Analysts had feared a slide of about 20 per cent.
Infineon, the German chip maker, climbed 3.5 per cent on news it was targeting 20 per cent sales growth in Asia. The company also said it would cut up to 350 jobs in its Regensburg chip factory in the German state of Bavaria. Deustche Bank raised Infineon's price target to €15 from €13.
Also upgraded by Deutsche Bank, to "buy" from "hold" with a €26 price target up from €18, was Dutch electronics group, Philips, which added 2.3 per cent.
French television company TF1 dropped 2 per cent after it said it will acquire a 34.3 per cent stake in Metro International's French subsidiary Publications Metro France for €12m. The purchase publishes the free daily newspaper Metro in Paris, Lyon and Marseille. TF1 also raised
its full-year advertising revenue growth target to between 2 and 3 per cent from its earlier forecast of between 1 and 3 per cent, along with its interims, which showed net profits up 23.1 per cent to €138m.
Interbrew dropped 4.9 per cent after the Belgian brewer warned its earnings per share for the full-year will be slightly lower than seen in 2002 at constant exchange rates and before restructuring. It added that full-year earnings before interest and tax would be broadly in line with the first half. Interbrew said interim earnings per share before exceptionals and goodwill was down to €0.53 from €0.62 last year, below analyst forecasts of €0.56-€0.61. Currency depreciation lowered earnings by €0.10 per share.
Carmakers were in focus as the Frankfurt motor show got under way. Daimler-Chrysler fell 0.3 per cent after it said sales of its Mercedes-Benz and small Smart cars fell to 87,700 vehicles in August from 94,900 units in the same month a year ago. Also at the show, Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, added 0.1 per cent after it said sales of its core VW brand were between 3 and 4 per cent lower in August compared with a year ago.
The FTSE Eurotop 300 slipped 0.1 per cent to 923.7. The Frankfurt Dax started 0.5 per cent higher at 3,658.9 and France's CAC 40 rose 0.3 per cent to 3,419.6 but London's FTSE 100 drifted 0.1 per cent lower to 4,286.3.
An upgrade for IBM helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average climb 82.95 points by the closing bell to 9,586.29. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.6 per cent to an 18-month high, while the S&P 500 index added 10.25 to 1,031.64. See more on Wall Street
Share prices in Japan leapt to a new 14-month high after a leading brokerage advised its clients to increase their holdings of Japanese stocks. The Nikkei Average closed up 2.2 per cent to 10,922.04. See more on Tokyo stocks
Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile handsets, rose 2.2 per cent ahead of a third quarter update due at 0900 GMT. In July the world's largest mobile phone maker warned third-quarter earnings would fall year-on-year due to a weak euro against the dollar and consumers' unwillingness to buy pricey handset models.
Richemont jumped 5.4 per cent as the world's second largest luxury goods maker reported better-than-expected sales. The company said a recovery in Asia post-Sars helped limit a sales slide to 16 per cent in the last five months. Analysts had feared a slide of about 20 per cent.
Infineon, the German chip maker, climbed 3.5 per cent on news it was targeting 20 per cent sales growth in Asia. The company also said it would cut up to 350 jobs in its Regensburg chip factory in the German state of Bavaria. Deustche Bank raised Infineon's price target to €15 from €13.
Also upgraded by Deutsche Bank, to "buy" from "hold" with a €26 price target up from €18, was Dutch electronics group, Philips, which added 2.3 per cent.
French television company TF1 dropped 2 per cent after it said it will acquire a 34.3 per cent stake in Metro International's French subsidiary Publications Metro France for €12m. The purchase publishes the free daily newspaper Metro in Paris, Lyon and Marseille. TF1 also raised
its full-year advertising revenue growth target to between 2 and 3 per cent from its earlier forecast of between 1 and 3 per cent, along with its interims, which showed net profits up 23.1 per cent to €138m.
Interbrew dropped 4.9 per cent after the Belgian brewer warned its earnings per share for the full-year will be slightly lower than seen in 2002 at constant exchange rates and before restructuring. It added that full-year earnings before interest and tax would be broadly in line with the first half. Interbrew said interim earnings per share before exceptionals and goodwill was down to €0.53 from €0.62 last year, below analyst forecasts of €0.56-€0.61. Currency depreciation lowered earnings by €0.10 per share.
Carmakers were in focus as the Frankfurt motor show got under way. Daimler-Chrysler fell 0.3 per cent after it said sales of its Mercedes-Benz and small Smart cars fell to 87,700 vehicles in August from 94,900 units in the same month a year ago. Also at the show, Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, added 0.1 per cent after it said sales of its core VW brand were between 3 and 4 per cent lower in August compared with a year ago.
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