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Bourses head higher
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December 28, 1998: 5:45 a.m. ET
European markets move gently higher, despite thin volume
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Fresh from the Christmas break, European investors were not too full of turkey to prevent them from loading up on shares.
All the European markets opened in the black Monday, despite the lack of any hard news and the absence of U.K. investors. The London market was closed for the Boxing Day holiday.
Germany's Xetra Dax took the lead, rising just over 1 percent to 5,036.86 in early trade. Zurich's SMI wasn't far behind, gaining 76 points to 7,236.5 points.
In Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.5 percent to 3,889.33, while Italy's MIB 30 continued its strong showing by rising almost 2 percent to 34,849.
In Stockholm investors shrugged off more rumors regarding car maker Volvo. The shares slipped 3 crowns to 192 crowns after traders discounted the latest report of a white knight takeover by Ford (F), allegedly to protect the Swedish group from a hostile bid by Germany's Volkswagen (FVOW). Volvo shares have risen by about 25 percent in recent months as rumors of a deal have proliferated.
In Frankfurt VW stock gained 2.5 marks to 137.5 marks, in line with a rising auto sector. BMW (FBMW), a very strong performer of late, gained 3 percent to 1,294 marks.
Banking stocks were mixed, and investors puzzled over the winners and losers among the various conglomerates jockeying for position in the telecom market.
In Zurich stocks were higher across the board, although telecom operator Swisscom missed out, sliding 11 francs to 574 francs.
The Paris market was very quiet, chip maker STMicroelectronics (PSGS), always a volatile stock, rose 3 percent to 444 francs.
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