LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - European shares are expected to rise on
Wednesday, buoyed by a rally in global equity markets after the Federal Reserve
delivered a smaller cut than expected to U.S. rates but two major investment
banks beat expectations with their results.
Spreadbetters in London expect Britain’s FTSE 100 index .FTSE to rise by
35 to 37 points, or as much as 0.7 percent at the start of trade, Germany’s DAX
.GDAXI to gain 48 to 72 points, or as much as 1.1 percent, and France’s CAC 40
.FCHI to rise 38 to 58 points, or by as much as 1.3 percent.
U.S. stocks rallied by more than 3 percent after the Fed cut rates by 75
basis points to 2.25 percent, less than the full percentage point markets had
anticipated. But results from Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research)
both beat expectations, soothing some investor concern about the spread of the
credit crisis.
“The fact the Fed just cut rates by 75 basis points last night - less than
the 100 points that had been expected by a number of traders - did leave
equities under a degree of pressure in the short term, but the negative
sentiment didn’t last long and Wall Street promptly resumed its rally with the
DOW finishing the day over 400 points higher,” said Claire Collingwood, a trader
at CMC Markets in a note.
“As a result, the upward momentum is expected to continue in Europe this
morning, although there has to be scope for yet further profit taking as traders
incorporate the fact that dollar yields may remain attractive to some.”
In Europe, industrial groups Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Royal Boskalis
Westiminster (BOSN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) report earnings, while on the consumer side, Clarins
(CLRP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), Benetton (BNG.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) and British retailers Next (NXT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Kesa
Electricals (KESA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) deliver updates.
A retreat in the price of commodities including gold %26lt;XAU=%26gt; and crude oil
CLc1 may weigh on shares in miners and energy companies, while the dollar
holding above its recent record low against the euro %26lt;EUR=%26gt; may support
exporters.
———————-MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0605 GMT———————-
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S%26amp;P 500 .SPX 1,330.74 4.24 % 54.14
NIKKEI .N225 12,260.44 2.48 % 296.28
MSCI ASIA EX-JP .MIASJ0000PUS 503.84 2.70 % 13.25
EUR/USD %26lt;EUR=%26gt; 1.5692 0.45 % 0.0070
USD/JPY %26lt;JPY=%26gt; 99.10 -0.88 % -0.8800
10-YR US TSY YLD %26lt;US10YT=RR%26gt; 3.460 — -0.04
10-YR BUND YLD %26lt;EU10YT=RR%26gt; 3.766 — 0.00
SPOT GOLD %26lt;XAU=%26gt; $990.80 0.95 % $9.30
US CRUDE CLc1 $108.34 -0.99 % -1.08
———————————————————————–
* Asian shares rally but dollar pares gains [ID:nSP233702]
* Dollar slides vs yen, but stays above 13-yr low [ID:nT322898]
* Japan stocks up 2 pct, but financial worries weigh [ID:nT272369]
* Gold drops 2 pct after Fed cuts less than expected [ID:nSP179404]
* Oil falls $1 to around $108 as dlr stays off lows [ID:nT221454]
* Wall Street rallies as Fed cut, banks drive gains [ID:nN18234917]
* Treasuries edge up in Asia after sell-off [ID:nT311316]
COMPANY NEWS:
DEUTSCHE BANK (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research)
Germany’s largest bank said on Wednesday it is paying 3.9 billion yuan ($552
million) to increase its stake in mid-sized Chinese commercial lender Huaxia
Bank Co Ltd (600015.SS: Quote, Profile, Research) to 13.7 percent from 9.9 percent.
For details please see [ID:nPEK311420]
UNILEVER (ULVR.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (UNc.AS: Quote, Profile, Research)
The world’s third largest food group said on Tuesday it has yet to see signs
that a slowdown in the United States was hitting its foods business or that
consumers were switching away from its leading brands to cheaper products.
For details please see [ID:nN18234192]
ASML (ASML.AS: Quote, Profile, Research)
The Dutch chip equipment maker said on Wednesday it expects its global
market share, especially in Japan, to grow further due to continued rising
demand in the technology sector.
For details please see [ID:nTP277575]
FIAT (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research)
Fiat Argentina, the local representative of the Italian automaker, said on
Tuesday it planned to invest $300 million in the South American country.
For details please see [ID:nN18248414]
ABBOT (ABT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), SOLVAY (SOLB.BR: Quote, Profile, Research)
State regulators are suing Abbott Laboratories Inc (ABT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Solvay
(SOLB.BR: Quote, Profile, Research) unit Fournier, alleging the drug makers illegally conspired to prevent
and delay low-cost generic versions of their TriCor cholesterol drug.
For details please see [ID:nN18568444]
SAINT-GOBAIN (SGOB.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), WENDEL (MWDP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research)
Saint-Gobain and its biggest shareholder, investment company Wendel, appear
to have reached an agreement on boardroom representation, French daily La
Tribune reports.
For details please see [ID:nL18234119]
CORIO (COR.AS: Quote, Profile, Research)
The Dutch property group is eyeing potential takeovers as rivals suffer from
the credit crisis, and it is well positioned to raise as much as 3 billion euros
($4.74 billion) through debt and divestments, its chief executive said on
Tuesday.
For details please see [ID:nL18839048]
AER LINGUS (AERL.I: Quote, Profile, Research), RYANAIR (RYA.I: Quote, Profile, Research)
A European court has rejected an attempt by Irish carrier Aer Lingus to stop
what it calls “interference” by rival Ryanair, Aer Lingus said on Tuesday.
For details please see [ID:nL18876798]
COMPANY UPDATES:
* Clarins SA YEAR FINAL (CLRP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Scor SA YEAR FINAL (SCOR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Hornbach Baumarkt AG YRTRADE (HBMG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Hornbach Holding AG YRTRADE (HBHG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Rheinmetall AG YEAR FINAL (RHMG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Cosmote Mobile Telecomm. SA (Greece YEAR FINAL (COSr.AT: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Benetton Group SpA YEAR FINAL (BNG.MI: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Royal Boskalis Westminster Groep NV YEAR FINAL (BOSN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Aegis Group PLC PRELIM (AEGS.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Evolution Group PLC PRELIM (EVG.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Imperial Tobacco Group PLC H1 TRADE (IMT.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Kesa Electricals plc PRELIM (KESA.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Next Plc PRELIM (NXT.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
* Smiths Group PLC H1 (SMIN.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
(Reporting by Amanda Cooper)
Tags: automaker, Bank, chief executive, commodities, credit crisis, deutsche bank, europe, exec, federal reserve, Investment Company, lehman brothers, market share, orr, quip, regulators, reuters, rivals, scor, stake, wall street