British publisher Pearson yesterday said it has decided to sell the Financial Times to a ‘global, digital news company’ after owning the business newspaper for nearly 60 years, a person familiar with the deal said yesterday. Shares of Pearson jumped 2.07% to close at 1,234 pence yesterday.
AFP/London
Europe’s main stock markets closed mixed yesterday in subdued deals, unable to rebound after two days of losses, as caution prevailed over Greece’s debt crisis.
In the eurozone, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.08% at 5,086.74 points, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 slipped 0.07% to 11,512.11 points.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies losing 0.18% to end the day at 6,655.01 points despite gainers such as British publisher Pearson which announced that it was selling its flagship business daily the Financial Times to Japanese digital media group Nikkei.
Pearson jumped 2.07% to close at 1,234 pence after announcing that the FT Group, which also includes FT.com, would be sold for £844mn ($1.31bn, €1.2bn) in cash.
In foreign exchange, the euro firmed to $1.0966 from $1.0926 late in New York on Wednesday, as Greece took another step closer to securing a bailout following the Greek parliament’s approval of a second batch of reforms.
Analysts said a raft of earnings reports from European companies has left investors uncertain.
“The FTSE 100 is broadly unchanged as the market struggles to make its mind up,” said IG analyst David Madden.
“A lack of pessimism does not constitute optimism, and that is exactly what equity markets are experiencing today, as traders do not know which way to look.
“After several days of declines, traders don’t hold a particularly strong view in either direction.”
The region’s indices had opened with initial gains after the Greek reform bill passed by a resounding 230 votes out of the 298 members of parliament present, after a marathon debate stretching into the early hours.
The vote was a key test of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ authority after he suffered a major rebellion in his leftist Syriza party at last week’s vote on a first tranche of tough reforms demanded by Athens’ creditors.
“The 36 rebellious Syriza MPs could still cause problems down the road for Alexis Tsipras, but for now, at least, he has the green flag to chase that much needed bailout package,” said Spreadex trader Connor Campbell.
Tsipras is negotiating a new bailout worth up to 86bn euros over three years. Creditors’ negotiators are expected to arrive in Athens to open the bailout talks this weekend.
The International Monetary Fund however warned yesterday that it will only participate in this new round of bailout talks if European creditors reduce Athens’ debt burden to a level it considers “sustainable”.
“Clearly it’s a difficult path ahead, we’re just at the beginning of the process,” said IMF spokesman Gerry Rice.
US stocks slipped yesterday following a torrent of mostly solid earnings reports from companies such as General Motors and United Airlines.
Around mid-day in New York trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.55% to 17,752.19 points .
The broad-based S&P 500 slid 0.38% to 2,106.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 0.10% to 5,166.40.
