European Closing Update: Stocks Finish Higher
LONDON -- Not surprisingly, Europe largely treaded water before Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's Humphrey-Hawkins testimony. What was slightly surprising, however, was how well the markets held up before that event given Wednesday's fall on Wall Street.
In London, the
FTSE 100
closed up just 0.2 points at 6465.6, but the
Techmark
managed a more than respectable gain of 85.2, or 2.3%, to close at 3,743.7.
U.K. tech stocks showed remarkable resilience given the pounding the
Nasdaq
has taken over the last few sessions.
ARM Holdings
(ARMHY)
moved up strongly to close near the top of the up-trend channel seen on the weekly charts. The stock finished up 57p, or 7.3%, at 837 ($12.47).
Sema
gained 22p, or 2.7%, to
10.35 after it announced that
United States Cellular Corporation
TheStreet Recommends
(USM) - Get United States Cellular Corp Report
has chosen Sema's over-the-air-activation solution for its networks.
Credit Suisse First Boston
was recommending Sema stock this morning.
Oils and pharmaceuticals were under pressure, helping to keep a lid on the Footsie. Crude oil price eased so -- surprise, surprise --
Shell
(SC) - Get Santander Consumer USA Holdings, Inc. Report
fell 12p, or 2.2%, to 528 and
BP Amoco
(BPA)
finished 13p lower, or 2.2%, at 586.
A vote by the U.S. Senate to allow imports of cheaper prescription drugs weighed on the pharmaceutical sector.
Glaxo Wellcome
(GLX)
dropped to a session low of
17.85 before recovering its poise to close up 3p, or 0.2%, at
18.20. Similarly,
SmithKline Beecham
(SBH) - Get Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. Report
bounced back from its intraday nadir of 802p to close just 7.5p lower, or 0.9%, at 821.
Telecoms had a very mixed session.
British Telecom
(BTY)
closed 11p lower, or 1.2%, at 906 and
Vodafone AirTouch
(VOD) - Get Vodafone Group Plc Report
eased 5p, or 1.6%, to 307. In contrast,
Colt Telecom
(COLTY)
made an impressive gain of 45p, or 1.9%, to close at
24.45.
Europe's other major stock markets finished solidly in positive territory, with the
CAC 40
in Paris closing up 68.7, or 1.1%, at 6,563.8. Late in the German trading session, the
Xetra Dax
in Frankfurt rose 94.1, or 1.3%, to 7,460.7 and the Neuer Markt's tech-heavy
Nemax 50
index was 124.8 higher, or 2%, at 6,397.4.
In Frankfurt, it was a clash of the Dax heavyweights, as a surging
SAP
(SAP) - Get SAP SE Report
offset a slumping
Deutsche Telekom
(DT) - Get Dynatrace, Inc. Report
. SAP jumped 29.04 euros, or 13.3%, to 248.10 ($229.30), as investors celebrated the software makers second-quarter results and DT slumped 3.50 euros, or 5.8%, to 56.90, as the same investors worried Telekom had launched a very expensive $53-billion bid for U.S. wireless operator
VoiceStream
(VSTR)
.
Other big German technology shares posted modest gains, with
Epcos
(EPC) - Get Edgewell Personal Care Co. Report
up 0.94 euros, or 0.8%, to 119.99 and
Siemens
(SMWAY)
0.99 euros higher, or 0.6%, at 176.99.
In Paris,
France Telecom
(FTE)
erased early gains to close down 3.50 euros, or 2.3%, to 147.50 and
Alcatel
(ALA)
ended up 2.10 euros, or 2.8%, at 78.60.
Mixed French concern
Vivendi
closed up 1.50 euros, or 1.7%, at 90.90 amid the lackluster floatation of its utilities unit
Vivendi Environnement
, which closed below its 34 euro launch price at 33.88.
