European stocks mixed in thin trade; DAX up 0.3%
Investing.com
Published May 30, 2011 05:19AM ET
Investing.com – European stock markets were mixed in thin holiday trade on Monday, as unresolved Greek sovereign debt issues weighed on market sentiment, while shares in German utilities performed poorly.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased down 0.06%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.1% lower, while Germany's DAX 30 climbed 0.3%.
Shares in German nuclear power plant operator RWE dropped 2.45%, while rival E.ON slumped 1.8% after Germany’s Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen said the country planned to shut down all of its nuclear power plants by 2022, in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster.
The news boosted shares in the alternative energy sector, with Vestas Wind Systems gaining 1.4% and Norwegian-based Renewable Energy Corporation surging 4.3%.
Meanwhile, concerns over Greece’s sovereign debt remained in the spotlight. The International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank were expected to deliver a report on Greece’s progress on meeting fiscal targets under its bailout plan later in the week.
Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine said over the weekend that the review will find Greece has missed all its fiscal targets. However, the IMF said Sunday that the report was untrue.
Shares in Europe’s largest financial group BNP Paribas slumped 1.2%, Italy’s largest lender Unicredit declined 1.4%, while Commerzbank dropped 2.1%
In Greece, shares in Alpha Bank, the nation’s third largest lender tumbled 4.7% to hit a record low.
On the upside, shares in Italian automaker Fiat jumped 1.3% after it announced plans to exercise an option to purchase the U.S. government’s 6% stake in the third largest U.S. automaker, Chrysler.
German automaker Daimler rose 1.1% after it said sales of its Mercedes-Benz brand in Russia increased 77% in the three months ending in April.
U.K. markets were closed for the Spring Bank holiday, while U.S. markets were to remain shut for Memorial Day, which was expected to keep action contained for the rest of European markets.
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Written By: Investing.com
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