An AstraZeneca sign sits outside the company’s factory in Macclesfield, the UK.  The British pharmaceutical giant’s shares jumped 3.28% to 4,175 pence yesterday.

AFP/London

European stock markets closed on an upbeat note yesterday as traders reacted to a string of earnings updates, data pointing to further easing of eurozone economic strains, and fresh takeover speculation.

Stock indices got a boost from well-received profits news from Apple and Facebook on Wednesday following the close of trading on Wall Street, analysts said, and New York markets were up yesterday.

Concern over the crisis in Ukraine however capped the optimism on financial and oil markets, and the euro eased slightly against the dollar over the escalating tensions.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day 0.42% up at 6,703 points.

Germany’s DAX 30 closed slightly up 0.05% at 9.548.68 points, with data revealing that German business confidence rebounded this month, after a slight fall in March in Europe’s biggest economy when companies worried about the Crimea crisis.

In Paris, the CAC-40 rose 0.64% to 4,479.54 points.

And in Madrid, the IBEX 35 gained 0.36% to 10,462 points after Spain’s central bank said the country’s economy grew at the fastest pace for six years in the first quarter of 2014.

“European markets are moving to the upside on the back of better than expected corporate data out of the US late yesterday evening,” said Markus Huber, senior analyst at broker Peregrine & Black.

“Tech heavyweights Facebook and Apple both posted better-than-expected results and consequently instilled new optimism into the markets.”

In New York, the Dow Jones index rose 0.12% and the Nasdaq gained 0.56%, as investors shrugged off poor data showing that jobless claims were higher than expected last week.

Company deals were in focus, with the share price of British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca jumping 3.28% to 4,175 pence as the company’s turnaround programme appeared on track despite profits halving in the first quarter.

In Paris, shares in French engineering group Alstom, which builds power-generating equipment and high-speed trains, shot up 10.93% to 27euros on rumours that US General Electric may make a takeover bid.

Alstom issued a statement to say that it had no knowledge of any such offer—after financial news agency Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that GE was in advanced talks to buy Alstom for more than $13.0bn (9.4bn euros).

The Paris market was marked by several results statements. Shares in engineering group Schneider Electric jumped 5.05% to 68.38 euros after the company reported unexpectedly strong first-quarter sales.

Shares in leading tyre maker Michelin fell by 4.23% to 88.83 euros on a fall in quarterly sales which the company blame don the strength of the euro.

Spirits group Pernod Ricard, number two in the world in its sector, reported a 7.0% fall in sales in its third quarter, blaming exchange-rate factors and a downturn of sales in China, the latest the latest luxury products group to suffer from a Chinese campaign against ostentatious entertainment. Nine-month sales were down 7.0%, and the shares ended the day flat at 85.70 euros.

Tensions in Ukraine meanwhile weighed on the European currency, as Russia launches new military exercises on the border and warned of consequences after Kiev sent in troops to fight pro-Kremlin rebels in the east.

Concerns about tension over Ukraine and energy supplies to Europe also pushed up the price of oil slightly.

In foreign exchange deals yesterday, the euro eased to $1.3791 from $1.3816 late in New York on Wednesday, but later recovered to 1.3829.

 

 

 

Related Story