14/07/2003 13:51
European bourses rose on Monday after a firmer finish on Wall Street on Friday and an upbeat assessment of the semiconductor industry by investment bank Smith Barney.
By mid morning the Eurotop 300 was 0.3 per cent higher at 868.5. The Dax in Frankfurt rose 0.7 per cent to 3,351.7, the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.4 per cent higher to 3,150.09 and the FTSE 100 in London made gains of 0.38 per cent at 4,073.7.
In New York on Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week just under a per cent higher and the tech-laden Nasdaq closed more than 1 per cent firmer.
European semiconductor shares were among the best performers in Europe after Citigroup's Smith Barney upgraded its stance on the European chip sector to "neutral" from "underweight". Merrill Lynch added to the positive sentiment in the chip sector by upgrading Intel, ahead of results on Tuesday from the leading maker of microchip processors, from "neutral" to "buy".
ASML, which reports second quarter results on Wednesday, rose 4.3 per cent. STMicroelectronics, Europe's biggest chip maker, gained 1.3 per cent and Infineon, the German chipmaker, raced up 3.9 per cent.
In other corporate news a Swiss newspaper report over the weekend said Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, had made a firm offer for Swiss International Airlines. Swiss Air shares soared 10.3 per cent while Lufthansa's shares rose 1.7 per cent. In a separate report KLM, the Dutch airline, rejected claims it had decided to join the SkyTeam alliance with Air France instead of BA's Oneworld alliance. KLM rose 2.4 per cent and BA gained 1.9 per cent. Later in the session Iberia, the Spanish airline, releases June traffic numbers.
In the steel sector Pechiney, French aliminum producer at the centre of a hostile takeover battle last week, fell 0.1 per cent after saying it is considering reviving a bid for the aluminium assets of Corus, the Anglo-Dutch group. Corus shares added 4 per cent on hopes for a fresh cash injection.
Fiat, the Italian industrial conglomerate, was the worst performer on the Eurotop 300, down 3 per cent, after Giuseppe Morchio, chief executive, said a put option that partner General Motors has to buy the Fiat car unit may not be enforceable.
Commerzbank, the German Bank, rose 0.8 per cent after Klaus Peter Mueller, the company's CEO, gave a rosier outlook for the company saying it should post an operating profit this year after producing its first ever loss last year.
In the US, Citigroup and Bank of America report later in the session.
By mid morning the Eurotop 300 was 0.3 per cent higher at 868.5. The Dax in Frankfurt rose 0.7 per cent to 3,351.7, the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.4 per cent higher to 3,150.09 and the FTSE 100 in London made gains of 0.38 per cent at 4,073.7.
In New York on Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week just under a per cent higher and the tech-laden Nasdaq closed more than 1 per cent firmer.
European semiconductor shares were among the best performers in Europe after Citigroup's Smith Barney upgraded its stance on the European chip sector to "neutral" from "underweight". Merrill Lynch added to the positive sentiment in the chip sector by upgrading Intel, ahead of results on Tuesday from the leading maker of microchip processors, from "neutral" to "buy".
ASML, which reports second quarter results on Wednesday, rose 4.3 per cent. STMicroelectronics, Europe's biggest chip maker, gained 1.3 per cent and Infineon, the German chipmaker, raced up 3.9 per cent.
In other corporate news a Swiss newspaper report over the weekend said Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, had made a firm offer for Swiss International Airlines. Swiss Air shares soared 10.3 per cent while Lufthansa's shares rose 1.7 per cent. In a separate report KLM, the Dutch airline, rejected claims it had decided to join the SkyTeam alliance with Air France instead of BA's Oneworld alliance. KLM rose 2.4 per cent and BA gained 1.9 per cent. Later in the session Iberia, the Spanish airline, releases June traffic numbers.
In the steel sector Pechiney, French aliminum producer at the centre of a hostile takeover battle last week, fell 0.1 per cent after saying it is considering reviving a bid for the aluminium assets of Corus, the Anglo-Dutch group. Corus shares added 4 per cent on hopes for a fresh cash injection.
Fiat, the Italian industrial conglomerate, was the worst performer on the Eurotop 300, down 3 per cent, after Giuseppe Morchio, chief executive, said a put option that partner General Motors has to buy the Fiat car unit may not be enforceable.
Commerzbank, the German Bank, rose 0.8 per cent after Klaus Peter Mueller, the company's CEO, gave a rosier outlook for the company saying it should post an operating profit this year after producing its first ever loss last year.
In the US, Citigroup and Bank of America report later in the session.
Related Articles
