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Bourses boosted by Dow
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April 13, 1999: 5:17 a.m. ET
Europe's markets cheered by Dow's record close; London flirts with high
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LONDON (CNNfn) - London blue chips flirted with a new peak Tuesday after Wall Street shrugged off a profit alert from Compaq Computer to post a record-breaking performance. Positive Asian markets boosted the mood in Europe.
In London, the bellwether FTSE 100 was up 0.83 percent, or 35.97 points, at 6,492.1 after coming within a hair's breadth of its all-time high of 6,512.1, set Friday.
The closely-watched gauge could also get a boost from a British retail survey, released Monday, that showed a 3.9 percent rise in retail sales in March, the strongest gain in a year. The numbers may spur hopes for a recovery in the flagging retail sector.
Frankfurt's electronically-traded Xetra Dax was up 1 percent in mid-morning trade at 5,219.17. Swiss shares mimicked the pace, rising 0.85 percent to 7,415.1.
U.S. markets defied expectations to soar to new peaks Monday, despite fears of a downturn, following the shock profit warning from Compaq (CPQ) after the bell Friday.
Financial stocks started strongly in Frankfurt. Germany's second largest bank, HypoVereinsbank, was up over 1.80 euros at 57.80, while insurer, Munich Re (FMUV), was up 3.5 percent at 196.20 euros.
Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) continued its good run in the previous session, up 0.25 euros at 41.10 euros.
Stocks to watch in London included Barclays (BARC), which was plunged into a fresh management crisis. The stock pared some of its early losses Tuesday, but was still down 1.66 percent at 1,834 pence after new chief executive officer, Michael O'Neill, resigned unexpectedly on ill-health grounds. He had been in the job just over a fortnight.
Tesco (TSCO) is also in the spotlight, but for different reasons. The U.K.'s leading supermarket chain announced an 8 percent rise in pretax profit Tuesday. Tesco shares were 2.19 percent higher, at 163 pence.
In Paris, the CAC 40 rose nearly 1 percent to 4,390.97.
Shares in Vivendi (PEX) were flat in Paris, at 236.9 euros, after the group announced plans to list its Vivendi Environment unit on the Paris bourse within three years. An analyst told Reuters, however, the move could effectively render the original Vivendi stock little more than a holding company, prompting a possible rating downgrade.
Conglomerate Lagardère (PMMB) led the advancers, spiking nearly 3 percent by mid-morning as traders gave a thumbs up to the group's plans to buy out the 55 percent of radio broadcaster Europe 1 it does not already own.
British specialty chemicals company Laporte (LPRT) plummeted about 14 percent, to 657 pence, after the company revealed that it had ended takeover talks with a possible buyout partner. The announcement came just a day after Laporte divulged it was in such talks.
Shares of Anglo-Norwegian engineering firm Kvaerner were off 9.50 euros in Oslo, at 129.50, after the company unveiled plans to sell its shipbuilding operations as part of a massive restructuring. The disposal would split one of the world's largest commercial shipbuilders, and cut annual turnover by more than $3.2 billion.
-- from staff and wire reports
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