A decorator puts a jersey for fans of the German national football team by Adidas on display at a store in Berlin yesterday. Adidas shares ended yesterday with a gain of 2.73% to €73.48, leading Frankfurt blue-chips.
AFP/London
European equities got off to a strong start yesterday, with London boosted by Shire Pharmaceuticals’ backing of a takeover bid by US giant AbbVie and Adidas, a big winner at the World Cup.
Investors also kept an eye open for US bank results and an ear out for comments this week from the head of the Federal Reserve about the US economy and the likely timeline for raising interest rates.
When trading closed in Europe, London’s FTSE 100 had added 0.84% to 6,746.14 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 1.21% to 9,783.01 points and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.78% to 4,350.04.
Milan rose 0.40% and Madrid increased by 0.64%, while Lisbon stocks edged up by 0.63% as worries eased over potential fallout from the plight of troubled lender Banco Espirito Santo (BES). The markets also shrugged off data that showed eurozone industrial output fell by 1.1% in May.
In New York, US stocks scored solid gains in opening trades after Citigroup announced better-than-expected earnings and also owing to a rash of merger and acquisition activity.
In morning transactions, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.79% to 17,0077.19.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.55% to 1,978.34, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.68% to 4,445.44.
Back in Europe, one group had several reasons to celebrate the World Cup final in Brazil. Sporting goods company Adidas manufactured the footballs, sponsored both finalists, and is based in Germany, which won. Adidas shares ended the day with a gain of 2.73% to €73.48, leading Frankfurt blue-chips.
In London, Shire Pharmaceuticals recommended a revised $53.6bn takeover from US giant AbbVie and said it was in “detailed discussions” over terms, ending its opposition to a deal.
AbbVie’s latest cash-and-stock proposal for Shire was worth £53.20 per share, valuing it at the equivalent of £31.35bn or €39.5bn, Shire said in a statement.
Shire’s share price gained 0.68% to £50.01 pence — but held underneath the offer price.
In Paris, Airbus Group shares were stable, gaining a slight 0.05% to 47.13 euros after the company launched an upgrade to its long-haul A330 passenger jet — the A330neo — which boasts more fuel-efficient engines. The news was unveiled on the first day of the Farnborough airshow.
In foreign exchange deals on Monday, the European single currency rose to $1.3621 from $1.3604 late on Friday in New York.
The British pound slipped to $1.7080 from $1.7101 on Friday. The euro edged up to 79.74 pence from 79.54 pence.
In commodity deals, gold fell to $1,306 per ounce from $1,335 on Friday.
