Reply #5: European markets also open strongly [View All]

[EuroObserver]

Swiss SMI up 0.63% at CHF 7798.13 09:42:31 CET
CAC 40 opens up 1% at 4,925.7 in Paris 08:07 GMT
Xetra Dax 30 opens up 1.3% at 5,622.3 in Frankfurt 08:06 GMT
FTSE 100 opens up 0.8% at 5,766.7 in London 08:05 GMT

Sharp climb seen for bourses
European bourses were seen climbing sharply at the open on Friday after the Nikkei in Tokyo soared 3.6 per cent and Wall Street ended solidly. Spread betters in London called the FTSE 100, CAC 40 in Paris, and Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax indices between 23 and 50 points higher, according to Reuters. /more...

Europe stocks hit 4-1/2-yr high; ThyssenKrupp up
Fri Jan 27, 2006 03:20 AM ET
LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - European shares jumped 0.9 percent to their highest level since August 2001 at Friday's open, boosted by ThyssenKrupp (TKAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and resource stocks as investors took heart from healthy rallies in Japan and on Wall Street.

By 0810 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst index of 300 leading shares was up 0.9 percent at 1315.62 points, its highest in 4-1/2 years.

German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp rose 6.4 percent after a higher-than-expected first quarter result and saying it aims to post a pretax profit of 2 billion euros ($2.45 billion) in the mid-term. "It's a very good set of numbers, it's better than consensus with a good outlook," said a German trader. "All in all, it's really good."

Among resource stocks, BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped 2.7 percent and Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 2.3 percent after Shanghai copper futures hit record highs ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, pushing London Metal Exchange copper up about $20 a tonne. /more...

London higher as P&O returns to first port of call
London’s equities markets continued to make progress in opening trade on Friday, after P&O confirmed its support for DP World’s increased bid, dropping backing for the rival offer from Singapore’s PSA. The FTSE 100 started the session 0.7 per cent higher at 5,762.0 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 was 0.8 per cent firmer at 9,157.2. Overnight in New York on a busy day for largely upbeat company news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.9 per cent higher at 10,809.47, which took the index back above the level at which it began the year. The S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to 1,273.82 and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1 per cent to 2,283.00. Back in London, and dealmaking returned to the spotlight as shipping company P&O changed tack once more, withdrawing its support from a 470p per share offer from PSA and backing DP World’s increased 520p counterbid. Investors had been expecting such a move, supporting P&O’s price past the 443p level of DP World’s first bid and beyond the 470p offered by PSA in reply. That offer was backed on Thursday by P&O’s board before DP raised the bar further. In opening trade, the market continued to provide upside to P&O’s shares, which advanced a further 5.2 per cent to 548.9p raising the prospect of further developments in the coming days.