European Shares Edge Higher
09.03.2005, 12:44
LONDON (Reuters) - European share indexes rose on Wednesday, buoyed by plans from companies to return more money to shareholders and solid earnings from the likes of hotel group Accor, but high oil prices kept a lid on gains.
LONDON (Reuters) - European share indexes rose on Wednesday, buoyed by plans from companies to return more money to shareholders and solid earnings from the likes of hotel group Accor, but high oil prices kept a lid on gains.
French bank Credit Agricole bucked the firmer trend, falling 4 percent after its fourth-quarter earnings missed forecasts.
By 6:14 a.m. EST, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips was 0.3 percent higher at 1,103.5 points, while the narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.5 percent to 3,112 points.
"We're now near 32-33 month highs in the market, and you've got a lot of input costs like oil and commodity prices that are going to have some sort of impact on profits -- except for oil companies which will do very well," said Karen Olney a strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
"We maintaining a defensive stance, with an oil and bank tilt, because we feel the consumer-driven banks are protected in this environment. We would be very cautious on industrial cyclicals (because) currencies are going against them and oil prices are high."
Crude prices held firm below $55 a barrel, within reach of all-time highs hit in October last year as cold weather in the United States and a weak dollar lured speculators back into energy markets.
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a mostly firmer start on Wall Street, where stocks closed down on Tuesday in the face of weakness in the semiconductor sector and the higher crude price.
ACCOR, ADIDAS ADVANCE
Among European companies reporting on Wednesday, Accor jumped 4.3 percent after it posted a forecast-beating 13.2 percent rise in full-year earnings and announcing a 1 billion euro investment by U.S. real estate group Colony Capital.
Sporting goods firm Adidas-Salomon rose 6.2 percent, buoyed by a 30 percent rise in its annual dividend and plans to buy back up to 10 percent of its own shares.
British insurer Aviva rose 2 percent after announcing a bigger than expected 2004 operating profit and saying it had agreed to buy UK motor services company RAC for about 1.1 billion pounds.
RAC shares, which spiked on Tuesday after saying it had received a bid approach, rose a further 6.5 percent.
Still in Britain, broadcaster ITV rallied 4.2 percent after reporting a surge in full-year profits thanks to cost-cutting and an increase in advertising revenues, while a positive outlook from Danish drugs group Lundbeck boosted its shares 9 percent.