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FTSE closes at record high
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April 13, 1999: 1:04 p.m. ET
Undeterred by Kosovo developments, Europe ends broadly higher
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LONDON (CNNfn) - For Europe's major bourses Tuesday, Serbian troops crossing the Albanian border were no match for Wall Street blue chips crossing into record territory as London's FTSE 100 powered to a record closing high. Paris hit a fresh 1999 closing peak.
The early bullish tone on the Dow Jones, spurred by benign inflation data and healthy corporate earnings, persuaded London investors to lavish cash on blue chips, led by the financial sector. A couple of major banks lent considerable support, adding nearly 30 points to the benchmark index.
After flirting with a fresh high earlier in the session, the FTSE briefly settled back on reports of the Serb incursion into Albania. By the finish, buoyed by the Dow, the FTSE 100 had advanced 71.9 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,513.1, just shy of its earlier intraday peak of 6,519.5.
The closely-watched gauge also could 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 FTSE 100 is up 10.7 percent since the start of the year.
In Paris, the CAC 40 streaked to its second straight closing record of 1999, after stumbling on news of the Kosovo developments. The bellwether gauge ended up 0.28 percent at 4,367.41 on heavy volume of more than 2 million euros. Canal Plus added 3.37 percent amid speculation that Vivendi may use funds raised through a capital increase to fund an acquisition of a further interest in Canal. Vivendi slipped 2.74 percent after unveiling plans to separately list its Environmental unit on the Paris bourse.
Frankfurt's electronically-traded Xetra Dax ended up 1.12 percent, or 57.67 points, at 5,225.22.
The most actively traded stock in Frankfurt, automaker DaimlerChrysler, leapt 3.6 percent to 91.95 euros after getting a "buy" recommendation. Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) shot up 2.71 percent ahead of earnings results due out Thursday; the company refused to comment on talk that it may throw in its lot as a white knight candidate for Telecom Italia.
Swiss shares ended 0.18 percent higher at 7,366.2, prodded up by index powerhouse Nestle, which rose more than 3 percent to 2,746 francs amid speculation it may sell its frozen foods business.
In London, speculation that banking giant Barclays (BARC) could become a takeover target revived the company's fortunes after it was plunged into a management crisis. News that the company's new chief executive, Michael O'Neill, had stepped down for health reasons drove the stock down sharply in early trade.
Barclays shares ended up 2.4 percent at 1,918 pence.
In the supermarket sector, Tesco (TSCO) racked up impressive gains after the U.K.'s leading supermarket chain announced an 8 percent rise in pretax profit Tuesday, ahead of market expectations. Tesco topped the most-active list in London, closing up 6.3 percent.
Conglomerate Lagardère (PMMB) led the advancers in Paris, 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 doesn't already own.
British specialty chemicals company Laporte (LPRT) plummeted 12.5 percent to 638 pence after the company revealed that it had ended takeover talks with a possible buyout partner. The announcement came just a day after Laporte disclosed it was in such talks.
Shares of Anglo-Norwegian engineering firm Kvaerner closed off just over 2 percent at 136 euros in Oslo 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 revenue by more than $3.2 billion.
Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson jumped 3.6 percent in Stockholm as the company announced the purchase of two U.S. technology companies, launching its debut into Internet-based fixed-line networks. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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