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Bourses end on high note
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April 30, 1999: 12:59 p.m. ET
Europe's big markets close up after shrugging off strong U.S. growth data
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LONDON (CNNfn) - A positive open on Wall Street and a gushing oil sector gave European markets the confidence they needed Friday to allay their anxieties about strong U.S. economic growth and forge ahead to a higher finish. As Paris set a new closing record, London, Frankfurt and Zurich rallied
The FTSE 100 climbed 54 points to end at 6,552.2, a rise of 0.84 percent, on a day when traders drew initial inspiration from what they see as the Dow Jones industrial average's inexorable march to 11,000.
Thursday, the Dow notched up its third record close in a row, though the upswing was mitigated by a losses on the tech-laden Nasdaq.
The week-capping rally on the FTSE 100 somewhat diminished the overall impact of the benchmark index's 101-point slide Thursday. Then, blue chips snapped a five-day winning streak, succumbing to pressure from tumbling drug stocks and traders looking to lock in gains.
The FTSE 100 finished the week 124 points higher than it started, and just 47 points shy of its closing record of 6,598.8, set Wednesday. The index was up 1.2 percent for the week.
London and continental bourses experienced temporary tremors after the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. GDP growth data, showing a 4.5 percent rise in output. But the overall pattern the rest of the day was one of rebound.
Frankfurt's electronically-traded Xetra Dax closed up 37.38 points, or 0.7 percent, at 5,360.44 as chemical stocks remained in the spotlight throughout the day. The Dax ended the week 4.4 percent higher than last Friday.
Hoechst (FHOE) retraced losses from the previous session, advancing more than 5.5 percent to 44.85 euros.
But rival Bayer (FBAY) closed up 1.05 euros at 40.20 after posting a drop in first-quarter profit Friday. The Leverkusen-based company said net profit fell almost 8 percent to 399 million euros.
Lufthansa (FLHA) gained about 1.5 percent 21.90 euros after Morgan Stanley Dean Witter raised the airline's rating and set a stock price target of 25.5 euros.
Zurich's SMI index advanced 0.8 percent to close off its earlier session highs at 7,365.7. The Zurich index was 0.7 lower for the week.
Traders focused early attention on Zurich Allied, which surged initially on strong 1998 financial earnings. But the company closed down 9 Swiss francs at 983.
France's CAC 40 took heart from the Dow's gains to finish at 0.77 percent higher, at 4,405.35, a new closing record, and up 0.9 percent for the week. The previous closing record, set earlier in the week, was 4,390.35. Traders had exhibited some early caution, however, ahead of options expirations Friday and the release of the first-quarter U.S. GDP figures.
French oil stocks got a big boost Friday from ongoing merger speculation and a jump in crude oil prices to a new 15-month high of $16.47 after major oil producer Kuwait said it planned to cut output by an additional 4.56 percent.
Elf Aquitaine (PAQ) closed up 2.8 percent at 147 euros, while Total (PFP) climbed 2.45 percent to 129.6 euros.
In London, oil and gas stocks supported the FTSE's gains. BP Amoco (BPA) rose 0.90 percent to 1,182 pence, while Shell (SHEL) added 1.03 percent to 470-1/2 pence.
The big deal Friday was the $13 billion bid by Spanish oil company Repsol for the 85 percent stake in Argentina's largest oil company, YPF, it doesn't already own. Repsol stock closed up more than 5 percent in Madrid, bucking the trend on the overall Ibex 35 index, which ended off 0.3 percent at 9,975.4.
Other stocks in the spotlight Friday included Volvo and Scania, after the former said it had raised its stake in its rival truck maker for the second day running.
The new common European currency, the euro, continued to run into trouble Friday, hitting a new all-time low of $1.0557 following the U.S. GDP data, before recovering some losses. The euro is down more than 10 percent since its January launch. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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