|
Frankfurt ends 3% higher
|
 |
March 24, 2000: 1:11 p.m. ET
Bid talk in utility, financial fields drives gains in Europe; London vaults 2%
|
LONDON (CNNfn) - Europe's leading equity markets ended the week advancing strongly, as turbo-charged financial and telecom shares powered London's blue chip index up more than 2 percent to its highest close this year, and talk of a possible blockbuster tie-up in the utility sector sparked a 3 percent rally in Frankfurt.
In London, Sun Life & Provincial Holdings soared on news that France's Axa is poised to bid for full ownership. Paris advanced 1.5 percent on tech strength, while Zurich closed 1 percent higher.
A turnaround on the Dow Jones industrial average after a weak start lent impetus to European markets inspired by speculation of mergers and acquisitions, and continued strength in so-called "new economy" stocks in the telecom, media and technology sectors.
 The benchmark FTSE 100 index in London shot up 143.9 points, or 2.2 percent, to 6,738.5, its highest close so far this year. Winners trounced losers by a more than five-to-one margin. The FTSE 100 hit a session high of 6,755.1 at one point. At that level it was less than 200 points short of its previous intraday peak of 6,950.6, achieved in the last trading session of 1999.
 In Frankfurt, the performance was even more impressive: The electronically traded Xetra Dax stormed up 3.1 percent, or a whopping 237 points, to 7,932.42, its highest finish in 10 sessions. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 1.5 percent to end at 6,364.26, while the SMI in Zurich advanced 1.1 percent to 7,440.4 and the AEX exchange in Amsterdam rallied 1.7 percent to 683.48. The blue-chip Mib-30 in Milan was another strong performer, barreling up about 2.9 percent to 48,549.
 For the week, London's FTSE 100 was up 2.75 percent, Frankfurt jumped 2.9 percent, Paris advanced just under 1 percent, and Zurich leapt 4.8 percent.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's larger stocks, gained 1.9 percent to 1,656.45, led by strong gains in its real estate, water, information technology, media, telecom and bank segments.
Sun Life surges
In London, British insurer Sun Life & Provincial (SLP) skyrocketed nearly 40 percent, on news that parent Axa is about to buy the 43.7 percent stake in the British company that it doesn't already own. The news sparked a domino chain of rallies in bank and insurance stocks.
The Dax, meanwhile, drew much of its support from merging utilities Veba and Viag, which both surged amid reports that they want to tie-up with France's Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux.
The euro was quoted at around $0.9725 late Friday in London, about a quarter cent above its session lows below $0.97.
In London, financial and telecom stocks provided the brunt of the upward momentum, with each sector contributing 38 points to the blue chip advance. Sun Life (SLP) surged 39.4 percent on news that Axa is poised to snap up 43.7 percent of the company it doesn't already own. The disclosure, along with confirmation by privately held investment bank Robert Fleming that it's in takeover discussions with U.S.-based Chase Manhattan Bank (CMB: Research, Estimates), renewed speculation about corporate transactions in the financial services industry.
Lloyds TSB (LLOY) rallied 5.1 percent, Barclays (BARC) advanced 5.4 percent, Abbey National (ANL) jumped just under 8 percent, HSBC Holdings (HSBA) advanced 3.2 percent, and mortgage lender Halifax (HFX) rose 1.6 percent.
The financial rally spread to other bourses as well. In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank (FDBK) added 3.2 percent, HypoVereinsbank (FHVM) gained 4.7 percent, and Dresdner Bank (FDRB) rose 3.4 percent, while in Paris, In Paris, Crédit Lyonnais (PCL) gained 5.1 percent and Société Générale (PGLE) shot up 3 percent. Axa (PCS) shares, however, retreated 1.6 percent.
Freeserve barrels higher
Telecoms also sparkled, continuing a recent trend. Telewest (TWT) surged 12.5 percent, Colt Telecom (CTM) rallied 9.6 percent, and British Telecommunications (BT-A) added 2 percent. Index heavyweight Vodafone AirTouch (VOD) posted slimmer gains, closing up just a third of a percent.
Shares of Internet access provider Freeserve (FRE) rocketed 15.9 percent, after Dutch ISP World Online was rumored as a possible bidder for its pioneering British rival. World Online shares slumped 8.4 percent in Amsterdam, adding to recent losses. World Online denied the bid rumors.
In Frankfurt, shares in merging power utilities Veba (FVEB) and Viag (FVIA) surged on a report in German newspaper Die Welt that they were seeking to combine with France's water-to-telecom conglomerate Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux (PLY) to form a European utility giant with a market value of about  75 billion. Viag shares added 5.5 percent and Veba rose 5.1 percent in Frankfurt, while Suez Lyonnaise tacked on 1.2 percent in Paris.
On Frankfurt's tech-rich Neuer Markt, phone operator MobilCom (FMOB) spurted 12 percent a day after freefalling 22 percent amid news that France Telecom was buying a minority stake in the company to gain a foothold in Europe's largest telecom market.
In Paris, Index heavyweight France Telecom (PFTE) rose 4.3 percent, while construction-to-telecom conglomerate Bouygues (PEN) jumped 4.9 percent and chipmaker STMicroelectronics (PSTM) spurted 5.6 percent. 
--from staff and wire reports
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
