London up, but off highs

June 18, 1999: 1:03 p.m. ET

Greenspan remarks keep Europe buoyant, but Dax ends down amid triple-witching

LONDON (CNNfn) - Stocks ended a choppy session at a six- week high in London Friday on a day when thousands of anti-capitalist demonstrators staged a boisterous rally in the heart of London's financial district. At one point, London blue chips came within five points of their lifetime closing record just below 6,600.
     With the exception of Frankfurt's blue chip index, which dipped more than 1 percent, bourses across Europe closed broadly higher a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan dispelled traders' worst fears about an impending series of U.S. interest rate hikes.
     The benchmark FTSE 100 finished 0.5 percent, or 34.2 points higher, at 6,527.8, off its earlier highs after an uninspiring early session on Wall Street. Volatility prompted by the double-witching expiration of June index futures and options was seen as helping push blue chips at one point to within five points of the closing record, set on April 28, of 6,598.8.
     The FTSE was 0.7 percent higher for the week.
     Noisy demonstrations rocked London's square-mile financial center throughout the day in an apt reflection of the volatility on the floor of Europe's largest stock exchange.
     In Frankfurt, the electronically traded Xetra Dax emerged from a volatile triple-witching session down 1.45 percent, or 78.32 points, at 5,337.19. The benchmark index gained 0.8 percent, or 41.18 points, from last Friday's close.
     Options expirations were seen as pressuring the blue chip Frankfurt index lower. But the broader floor Dax closed up 0.34 percent.
     Greenspan's rate remarks acted as a palliative on Paris trade, where stocks shrugged off Wall Street's fumbling start to hit another closing high. The CAC 40 ended 0.7 percent higher at 4,539.56, leaving the bellwether French index up 3.5 percent, or 153 points, for the week.
     In Zurich, the SMI closed up 0.5 percent, or 36.8 points, at 7,189.8, but off its earlier-session highs as the expiration of options sparked some selling pressure. Financial stocks shone, while cyclical shares tended to underperform the overall market. The SMI was up 1.9 percent for the week.
     In London. tobacco giant BAT (BATS) led the advancers, adding 5.3 percent to end at 605 pence, recouping previous losses. However, Imperial Tobacco (IMT) took a hit amid news of an imminent ban on tobacco advertising in the United Kingdom, where it has far more exposure than BAT. Imperial fell nearly 3 percent to 750.2 pence.
     Retailers managed to recapture some lost ground in the wake of the black eye dealt by Wal-Mart's agreed bid for number-three supermarket group Asda (ASSD).
     Tesco (TSCO) finished up nearly 4 percent, while rival Sainsbury (SBRY) gained 1.1 percent. Pharmacy chain Boots (BOOT) surrendered early gains, but finished half a percent higher at 764 pence. Mail-order retailer GUS (GUS) ended 1.8 percent higher as analysts digested its plans to expand online and TV-based services.
     Insurer Prudential (PRU) added 2.5 percent following Thursday's decision to cut 4,000 jobs to slash costs. Aerospace group Smiths Industries (SMIN) added 3.1 percent to 920 pence in the wake of orders at the Paris Air Show.
     Publisher Reed (REED) added 1.6 percent on persistent bid rumors.
     In Frankfurt, the top gainer was travel group Preussag (FPRS), which jumped 5.40 percent to 52.49 euros after announcing the acquisition of a new distribution channel in partnership with Switzerland's Kuoni. But Karstadt (FKAR) gave up 4.2 percent.
     On the financial front, Deutsche Bank (FDBK) agreed to sell its New Zealand operations and Bankers Trust Australia to U.S. insurer Principal Financial Group for $1.4 billion. The stock sprinted up 1.7 percent in active trade.
     In the telecom sector, Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) slipped 0.40 euro to 44.00 following recent gains after the company's chief executive officer said Thursday the company would announce a "nice" acquisition by the end of 1999.
     In Paris, beauty products group Sanofi-Synthelabo (PSQ) had a healthy glow, spiking 3.2 percent to 40.00 euros after an upbeat analysts' meeting.
     Defense group Thomson-CSF (PHO), which spearheaded the early gainers, ended up 2.1 percent amid hopes that Alcatel (PCGE) may be allowed to take a stake in Thomson. Thomson also said it had received 1 billion euros in orders at the Paris Air Show.
     French bank Société Générale (PGLE) rose 3.3 percent, to 189.00 euros after four of its unions asked the French government to intervene to stop a ferocious bidding war for Paribas (PPM) with rival Banque Nationale de Paris (PBNP).