The Investor SA

European stocks move higher with focus on Greece; DAX rallies 1.22%

 

30 March, 2015

by Investing.com

 

European stocks rose sharply on Monday, as  investors continued  to focus on developments in Greece

as the country pursued efforts to secure more international funds and avoid bankruptcy.

 

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.05%, France's  CAC  40 gained 0.96%,

while Germany's DAX 30 rallied 1.22%.

 

Greece remained in focus after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government put forward new reform plans

for approval late Friday, as part of a bailout extension review.

 

Officials from the  European  Union, the International  Monetary Fund and the  European  Central  Bank

were  to  examine  the  measures after earlier proposals were not accepted. Athens failed last week in a

bid  to  secure  a  quick  cash  payment  from the  euro  zone  rescue  fund  to  help  stave  off  potential

bankruptcy next month.

 

Financial  stocks  were  broadly  higher, as  French  lenders  Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP

Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and rallied 1.63% and  1.78%, while  Germany's  Commerzbank  (XETRA:CBKG)

and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) advanced 0.90% and 1.55%

 

Among  peripheral  lenders, Italy's  Intesa  Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP)  and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) jumped

1.18% and 1.48% respectively, while Spanish bank BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) climbed 0.90%.

 

Elsewhere, Holcim (SIX:HOLN) Ltd. was up  0.20%  after  the  Swiss  cement  maker's  second  biggest

shareholder  said  it  plans  to  vote  against  the  company's  merger  with  French counterpart Lafarge

(PARIS:LAFP), even as the two groups agreed last week on new terms and management changes.

 

In London,  FTSE 100  advanced  0.57%,  as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher.

Shares   in   HSBC  Holdings  (LONDON : HSBA)  climbed  0.50%  and  the  Royal  Bank  of   Scotland

(LONDON:RBS) gained 0.70%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) advanced 0.75% and Barclays

(LONDON:BARC) rallied 1.49%.

 

Mining  stocks  were  also  on  the  upside, as  Randgold  Resources (LONDON : RRS)  and  Rio  Tinto  (LONDON : RIO) rose  0.38%  and  0.39% respectively, while rival company Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) jumped 1.12%.

 

Meanwhile, Kingfisher (LONDON:KGF) led gains on the index, with shares surging 2.21% after saying its acquisition of French retailer Mr Bricolage has collapsed. The company added that it will consider  "all of its options"  after  Mr  Bricolage's  major  shareholder,  ANPF , refused to extend the deadline of a binding agreement beyond March 31.

 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.43% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.45% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.52% climb.

 

Later  in  the  day, Germany  was  to  release  preliminary  data  on  consumer  price inflation. The U.S. was to produce final data on fourth quarter economic growth and the revised reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index