European Stock Gains
Published April 30th, 2007
European stocks advanced, headed for the biggest monthly gain this year, after takeovers increased in the telecommunications industry and expectations of higher earnings lifted construction companies.
Telefonica SA rose after the Spanish phone company and a group of investors agreed to pay 4.1 billion euros ($5.6 billion) for a controlling stake in Telecom Italia SpA. Skanska AB rallied after Deutsche Bank AG said shares of the world’s fourth-biggest building company should benefit from solid profit results.
A surge in takeovers and earnings growth has lifted the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index to a 6 1/2 year high this month. So far this year, mergers in Europe have totaled $937.2 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Deals reached a record $1.6 trillion in 2006. Of the 17 companies in the Stoxx 50 that have reported first-quarter results, 11 beat analysts’ estimates.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.4 percent to 387.73 as of 9:10 a.m. in London, set to post a gain of 3.6 percent in April. The Stoxx 50 added 0.4 percent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, gained 0.2 percent.
National benchmarks increased in 13 of the 16 western European markets that were open. The U.K.’s FTSE added 0.5 percent. France’s CAC 40 increased 0.3 percent and Germany’s DAX climbed 0.4 percent.
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