European Stocks Edge Higher As Investors Study Conflicting Data; Tokyo Shares Drop
NEW YORK -- Most European stock markets finished modestly higher Tuesday amid caution over conflicting economic reports from the euro zone and uncertainty about further interest-rate cuts in the U.S.
Earlier, stocks in Tokyo lost 1%, extending their losing streak to four consecutive sessions. However, shares in Hong Kong rose slightly.
In London, the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Share Index added 24.2 points, or 0.4%, to close at 6293.4.
Stock of Halifax Group climbed 6.6% after the insurance company agreed to acquire the operating assets of Equitable Life.
Telecommunications and technology shares ended mixed. Vodafone Group, the stock with the heaviest weighting in the FTSE index, closed down 1.4%, but Colt Telecom advanced 4.2%. Among technology shares, Imagination Technologies surged 15%, and Baltimore Technologies and Marconi also posted gains, but Bookham Technology and Logica finished lower.
In Paris, the CAC 40 Index added 28.86, or 0.5%, to 5852.35.
Shares of Genset soared 16% after the biotech company announced pre-clinical test results of its potential anti-obesity drug Famoxin.
Telecommunications-equipment maker Alcatel rose 2.5%.
Euro Disney shares climbed 9.1% after parent Walt Disney Co. gave optimistic forecasts for the Paris site's second park, set to open in 2002.
But Societe Generale closed slightly lower after agreeing to buy Deutsche Bank's equipment-finance, leasing and fleet-management operations. In Frankfurt, shares of Deutsche Bank rose 3.4%.
The Xetra DAX Index in Frankfurt closed up 64.96, or 1%, at 6693.03.
Stock of Adidas-Salomon rose 2.8% after the company set ambitious growth targets, even as it posted a 20% drop in 2000 earnings and is expected to be dropped from Frankfurt's blue-chip index.
News that troubled auto giant DaimlerChrysler is in talks with key investor Kuwait Investment Authority boosted the shares by 3.5%.
Major market indexes rose 0.9% in Madrid and Stockholm, 0.3% in Amsterdam and 0.2% in Zurich. Shares in Milan ended mixed, with the Mibtel index closing down less than one-tenth of one percent.
Economic concerns remain a key issue for investors in Europe, analysts said.
"Markets are still trying to digest whether we need further rate cuts in the U.S., and when they will come through," said Khuram Chaudry, European equities analyst at Merrill Lynch.
The Federal Reserve has cut rates a full percentage point in less than a month, its most aggressive action since 1982. Meanwhile, after holding rates steady last week, the European Central Bank is waiting for clearer data about the economy before changing monetary policy.
Mixed reports from the euro zone's two biggest economies were unlikely to provide the European Central Bank with clear signals on interest-rate policy. While German unemployment rose more than expected in January, sentiment among French consumers remained surprisingly bullish, thanks to a bright outlook for the jobs market.
Meanwhile, many market participants expect a rate cut at the conclusion of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meeting Thursday.
Tokyo's blue-chip Nikkei 225 average slid 115.67, or 0.9%, to close at 13269.85, extending Monday's 318.11-point drop. The index has lost 574 points in the past four sessions.
Investors sold certain technology stocks after the release of two separate forecasts for microchip sales, one by the Semiconductor Industry Association and the other by a Lehman Brothers analyst, both of which held cautious outlooks. Also, a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report predicted lower-than-expected earnings for Toshiba in the fiscal year ending March 31. Toshiba cut its estimates after the market closed, but its shares had already lost 3.9%. The electronic goods maker expects a group net profit of 96 billion yen ($836.6 million) for the year, compared with its previous projection of a group net profit of 137 billion yen.
Micro-chip and computer makers also ended lower. NEC fell 3.1%, Fujitsu shed 1.9% and Hitachi lost 2.5%. Mitsubishi Electric was fell 1.7% while Kyocera slid 3.1% to its lowest finish since November 1999.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 82.40, or 0.5%, to finish at 15913.24, on modest gains among bank and property issues, as investors shifted out of tech issues and into Old Economy stocks.
HSBC Holdings, the London-based parent of the two biggest lenders in the city, gained 1.3%, while subsidiary Hang Seng Bank added 1%. Property shares also staged a modest rebound. Sun Hung Kai Properties moved up 1%, Henderson Land closed up 1.5% and New World Development rose 1.7%.
Telecom and port investor Hutchison Whampoa, which is marketing a $1.5 billion bond, dropped 1.5%, while telecom and Internet company Pacific Century CyberWorks shed 1.1%. But China Mobile, the mainland's largest mobile- communications concern, edged up 0.6% after falling 3.3% Monday. Rival China Unicom added 0.8%, following a 4.2% drop in the previous session.
Shares in Taipei fell more than 1%, as the Nasdaq's weakness prompted investors to sell technology stocks. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange slid 83.36, or 1.4%, to end at 5849.06. Taiwan investors see the Nasdaq as a benchmark indicator for domestic electronics stocks.
In South Korea, shares gained more than 1% on bargain-hunting following Monday's 4.8% tumble and program buying spurred by foreign buying on the futures market, analysts said. Seoul's Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, added 7.42, or 1.3%, to close at 586.58.
In Manila, Philippine shares rose about 1% amid news that food and beverage group San Miguel has regained control of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, or CCBPI. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 12.15 points, or 0.7%, to close at 1664.23, following Monday's 1% loss.
Early Tuesday, San Miguel announced it is taking a 65% stake in CCBPI from Australia's Coca-Cola Amatil. The deal effectively reverts back to San Miguel one of its most important revenue sources. San Miguel relinquished control of CCBPI to Amatil in 1997 in exchange for Amatil shares. "San Miguel is a key component of the (PSE) index, that's why when its share price rose, other blue chips followed," said KGI Securities vice president Fitzgerald Aclan.
Copyright (c) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright (C) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
(%modification_date PT)
NEW YORK -- Most European stock markets finished modestly higher Tuesday amid caution over conflicting economic reports from the euro zone and uncertainty about further interest-rate cuts in the U.S.
Earlier, stocks in Tokyo lost 1%, extending their losing streak to four consecutive sessions. However, shares in Hong Kong rose slightly.
In London, the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Share Index added 24.2 points, or 0.4%, to close at 6293.4.
Stock of Halifax Group climbed 6.6% after the insurance company agreed to acquire the operating assets of Equitable Life.
Telecommunications and technology shares ended mixed. Vodafone Group, the stock with the heaviest weighting in the FTSE index, closed down 1.4%, but Colt Telecom advanced 4.2%. Among technology shares, Imagination Technologies surged 15%, and Baltimore Technologies and Marconi also posted gains, but Bookham Technology and Logica finished lower.
In Paris, the CAC 40 Index added 28.86, or 0.5%, to 5852.35.
Shares of Genset soared 16% after the biotech company announced pre-clinical test results of its potential anti-obesity drug Famoxin.
Telecommunications-equipment maker Alcatel rose 2.5%.
Euro Disney shares climbed 9.1% after parent Walt Disney Co. gave optimistic forecasts for the Paris site's second park, set to open in 2002.
But Societe Generale closed slightly lower after agreeing to buy Deutsche Bank's equipment-finance, leasing and fleet-management operations. In Frankfurt, shares of Deutsche Bank rose 3.4%.
The Xetra DAX Index in Frankfurt closed up 64.96, or 1%, at 6693.03.
Stock of Adidas-Salomon rose 2.8% after the company set ambitious growth targets, even as it posted a 20% drop in 2000 earnings and is expected to be dropped from Frankfurt's blue-chip index.
News that troubled auto giant DaimlerChrysler is in talks with key investor Kuwait Investment Authority boosted the shares by 3.5%.
Major market indexes rose 0.9% in Madrid and Stockholm, 0.3% in Amsterdam and 0.2% in Zurich. Shares in Milan ended mixed, with the Mibtel index closing down less than one-tenth of one percent.
Economic concerns remain a key issue for investors in Europe, analysts said.
"Markets are still trying to digest whether we need further rate cuts in the U.S., and when they will come through," said Khuram Chaudry, European equities analyst at Merrill Lynch.
The Federal Reserve has cut rates a full percentage point in less than a month, its most aggressive action since 1982. Meanwhile, after holding rates steady last week, the European Central Bank is waiting for clearer data about the economy before changing monetary policy.
Mixed reports from the euro zone's two biggest economies were unlikely to provide the European Central Bank with clear signals on interest-rate policy. While German unemployment rose more than expected in January, sentiment among French consumers remained surprisingly bullish, thanks to a bright outlook for the jobs market.
Meanwhile, many market participants expect a rate cut at the conclusion of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meeting Thursday.
Tokyo's blue-chip Nikkei 225 average slid 115.67, or 0.9%, to close at 13269.85, extending Monday's 318.11-point drop. The index has lost 574 points in the past four sessions.
Investors sold certain technology stocks after the release of two separate forecasts for microchip sales, one by the Semiconductor Industry Association and the other by a Lehman Brothers analyst, both of which held cautious outlooks. Also, a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report predicted lower-than-expected earnings for Toshiba in the fiscal year ending March 31. Toshiba cut its estimates after the market closed, but its shares had already lost 3.9%. The electronic goods maker expects a group net profit of 96 billion yen ($836.6 million) for the year, compared with its previous projection of a group net profit of 137 billion yen.
Micro-chip and computer makers also ended lower. NEC fell 3.1%, Fujitsu shed 1.9% and Hitachi lost 2.5%. Mitsubishi Electric was fell 1.7% while Kyocera slid 3.1% to its lowest finish since November 1999.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 82.40, or 0.5%, to finish at 15913.24, on modest gains among bank and property issues, as investors shifted out of tech issues and into Old Economy stocks.
HSBC Holdings, the London-based parent of the two biggest lenders in the city, gained 1.3%, while subsidiary Hang Seng Bank added 1%. Property shares also staged a modest rebound. Sun Hung Kai Properties moved up 1%, Henderson Land closed up 1.5% and New World Development rose 1.7%.
Telecom and port investor Hutchison Whampoa, which is marketing a $1.5 billion bond, dropped 1.5%, while telecom and Internet company Pacific Century CyberWorks shed 1.1%. But China Mobile, the mainland's largest mobile- communications concern, edged up 0.6% after falling 3.3% Monday. Rival China Unicom added 0.8%, following a 4.2% drop in the previous session.
Shares in Taipei fell more than 1%, as the Nasdaq's weakness prompted investors to sell technology stocks. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange slid 83.36, or 1.4%, to end at 5849.06. Taiwan investors see the Nasdaq as a benchmark indicator for domestic electronics stocks.
In South Korea, shares gained more than 1% on bargain-hunting following Monday's 4.8% tumble and program buying spurred by foreign buying on the futures market, analysts said. Seoul's Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, added 7.42, or 1.3%, to close at 586.58.
In Manila, Philippine shares rose about 1% amid news that food and beverage group San Miguel has regained control of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, or CCBPI. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 12.15 points, or 0.7%, to close at 1664.23, following Monday's 1% loss.
Early Tuesday, San Miguel announced it is taking a 65% stake in CCBPI from Australia's Coca-Cola Amatil. The deal effectively reverts back to San Miguel one of its most important revenue sources. San Miguel relinquished control of CCBPI to Amatil in 1997 in exchange for Amatil shares. "San Miguel is a key component of the (PSE) index, that's why when its share price rose, other blue chips followed," said KGI Securities vice president Fitzgerald Aclan.
Copyright (c) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright (C) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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