European stocks rise ahead of ECB rate decision; DAX up 0.1%
Investing.com
Published Apr 07, 2011 05:21AM ET
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.25%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.2%, while Germany's DAX 30 edged 0.1% higher.
Portugal became the third euro zone member to seek a bailout from the European Union on Wednesday, with the size of the package expected to be as much as EUR80 billion.
Portuguese banks Banco Espirito Santo and Banco Comercial Portugues rallied 5.3% and 4.9% respectively in wake of the aid request.
Across the sector, Europe’s largest banking group BNP Paribas saw shares climb 2.25%, Deutsche Bank rose 2%, while Banco Santander added 2.2% as markets awaited an interest rate announcement by the European Central Bank later in the day.
The ECB was widely expected to raise its key lending rate to 1.25% from a record low of 1.0%.
Meanwhile, shares in German automaker BMW slumped 1.8% after Morgan Stanley recommended selling the share, citing a slowdown in earnings growth. Shares in rival Audi dropped 1.1%, while Porsche slipped 1.35%.
Also Thursday, shares in German construction group Hochtief tumbled 6.5% after it said that it expected "significant adverse effects" on its 2011 earnings outlook resulting from losses in its Australian subsidiary Leighton Holdings.
In London, the FTSE 100 eased up 0.1% ahead of the Bank of England’s interest rate announcement. Banks were among the top gainers, with Royal Bank of Scotland jumping 2.6%, Barclays rising 1.5% and HSBC Holdings up 1.6%.
Shares of soft-drinks manufacturer Britvic dropped 4.2% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to ‘sell’, citing a slowdown in revenue resulting from a “challenging sales environment” in the U.K. and Ireland.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a modest gain of 0.05%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures edged 0.03% higher.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as data on consumer credit.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Investing.com
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.