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Bourses bounce with Dow
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May 3, 1999: 12:56 p.m. ET
As London stays shut for holiday, Wall St. gains provide lift; Paris sets record
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LONDON (CNNfn) - With London shut for a public holiday, Europe's other major markets took their lead Monday from a rebounding Dow Jones industrial average to finish broadly higher.
Bourses closed firmly in the plus column after milder-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data eased traders' concerns of an imminent hike in interest rates. French blue chips continued on their record-breaking run, setting another lifetime high just three days after piercing the 4,400 level for the first time.
After choppy early trade, the CAC 40 index of leading components siphoned late support from the Dow to close up 0.85 percent, or 37 points, at 4,442.84, topping the previous peak of 4,405.35 hit Friday.
French computer maker Bull (PBUL) skyrocketed almost 16 percent before being suspended limit-up, amid reports that the company is on the verge of finding new partners to take up the French government's 17.3 percent stake in the company. The surge built on Friday's hefty gains, when the capital-revamp speculation hit the markets. Bull has asked U.S. investment bank J.P. Morgan to recommend bidders for the state's interest, the Financial Times reported.
Germany's electronically-traded Xetra Dax overcame early sluggishness to finish 0.4 percent higher at 5,383.22, a rise of 22 points, also taking its cue from Wall Street.
In Switzerland, the SMI advanced 1.47 percent to 7,443.1, spurred by a rally in pharmaceutical giant Novartis, which gained 52 francs to 2,285 francs on a technical-driven rally.
NAPM index eases jitters
The European closing levels marked a reversal of sentiment from earlier in the session, when some traders cautioned that the Dow's 1 percent slide Friday could weigh on morale in Europe. That downturn followed the release of stronger-than expected GDP data earlier in the day that some economists believe could bias the Federal reserve toward a policy of higher interest rates.
The NAPM index, which rose to 52.8 in April, down from the March level of 54.3, helped allay those jitters.
In Frankfurt, specialty chemical maker Henkel (FHEN) recouped early losses to finish up 1.10 euros at 76.50 despite reporting a 14 percent fall in pretax profit for the first quarter. Larger chemical companies, BASF (FBAS) and Bayer (FBAY), dropped 0.70 euro to 40.75 and 1.33 euros to 38.87, respectively, after posting disappointing first-quarter revenue and profit last week.
Drug maker Schering (FFSCH) inched up 1.05 euros to 110.30 as the company reported a slight improvement in first-quarter results and said it expects sales growth and earnings to pick up.
Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) was up 0.10 euro at 37.40 as the Wall Street Journal reported the company was looking to pull a U.S. telecom operator into its proposed alliance with Telecom Italia. Deutsche declined to comment on the report Monday.
In Amsterdam, Dutch electronics firm Philips saw its stock jump 2.2 percent to 83.30 euros after the company said it has agreed to purchase U.S. chip maker VLSI (VLSI) in a $1 billion friendly deal takeover, capping a two-month hostile takeover standoff.
Shares of Swedish vehicle maker AB Volvo added 3.37 percent to 230 crowns in Stockholm after the company announced Friday it had boosted its stake in rival truck maker Scania to more than 20 percent of the voting capital, from about 15 percent. The move infuriated Scania's main shareholder, Investor, which riposted by raising its own interest in Scania to 49 percent of votes and 27.3 percent of capital.
Scania shares advanced just over 1 percent, to 236 crowns.
In Madrid, Spanish oil refiner Repsol gained more than 9 percent to 16.86 euros following its surprise $13.44 billion offer Friday for Argentina's YPF. A merged company would rank among the top 10 oil firms in the world. Overall, Spanish blue chips on the Ibex 35 index finished 1.16 percent higher at 10,090.8.
-- from staff and wire reports
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