European shares inch higher as Merkel hangs on to power
Reuters
Published Sep 25, 2017 05:59AM ET
European shares inch higher as Merkel hangs on to power
By Julien Ponthus
LONDON (Reuters) - European shares edged higher in cautious trade on Monday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel secured a fourth term but saw her party weakened by a surge in support for the far-right.
At 1027 GMT (5.27 am ET) both the pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX) and euro zone blue chips (STOXX50E) were 0.1 percent higher - a more moderate reaction than the currency market where the euro took a hit.
European bourses were mixed, with France's CAC 40 (FCHI) down 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX (GDAXI) up 0.3 percent and Milan (FTMIB) flat.
Financials were the biggest drag on European stocks while healthcare, energy and industrials helped offset those losses.
"We had a small negative surprise", Lionel Melin, a senior cross asset strategist for Lyxor, said.
Some traders said they were worried the vote might lead to a new coalition government less keen on pushing euro zone integration.
French train maker Alstom (PA:ALSO) rose 1.5 percent to its highest level since March 2013 after confirming on Friday it was in talks with German engineering group Siemens on a possible tie-up.
Switzerland's ABB (S:ABBN) rose 0.6 percent on its announcement it was buying General Electric's Industrial solutions unit in a deal worth $2.6 billion.
Shares in ABB have risen around 12 percent so far this year, in line with the broader European industrials index.
Unilever (L:ULVR), which announced it would buy cosmetics firm Carver Korea for 2.27 billion euros ($2.71 billion), added 0.7 percent.
Unicredit (MI:CRDI) slipped 0.1 percent after its deputy chairman said on Friday that the speculation about his bank wanting to take over Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) was nonsense. The German bank lost 1.2 percent.
Swedish construction firm NCC (ST:NCCb) was the worst performer on the STOXX, falling 7.2 percent, after it said it expected third-quarter operating earnings to come in far below market forecasts.
Politics continued to play spoilsport in Spain where Madrid's IBEX (IBEX) lagged its peers, off 0.7 percent.
The mounting political crisis over Catalonia's campaign for independence, which dragged stocks sharply lower last week, intensified over the weekend. Caixabank (MC:CABK) took the most points off the index, retreating 2.3 percent.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.