Market overview
Greek hopes boost European shares; banks up
European shares climbed yesterday, ending a sixth consecutive week of gains, supported by hopes Greece will obtain aid to help resolve its debt crisis.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 1.3 per cent at 1,101.78 points, an 18-month closing high. The index is up nearly 71 per cent from an all-time low in early March 2009.
Banks bounced back after two days of declines. HSBC, Banco Santander, UBS and Credit Suisse gained 2.1 to 4.1 per cent.
A European Union source said eurozone deputy finance ministers and senior central bankers had reached an agreement on the terms of possible emergency loans for Greece.
"The market is reacting to very much what is going on in the Greek situation," said David Hussey, head of pan-European equities at MFC Global Investment Management. "It is soothing the markets."
However, Fitch downgraded Greece's credit ratings by two notches and signalled further downgrades are possible. The Fitch report came out after the Greek market closed.
Greek bank shares ended up 7.1 per cent, rebounding after a sharp sell-off last Thursday.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up one per cent, Germany's DAX was 1.3 per cent higher, and France's CAC 40 was up 1.8 per cent.
Commodity stocks also featured among the top performers following falls in the previous session. Crude earlier rose to around $86 a barrel, near 18-month highs, but had slipped back under $85.
Energy stocks BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Cairn Energy rose 0.6 to 1.8 per cent.
Mining stocks rose with metals prices; copper flirted with the $8,000/tonne level, and aluminium gained 1.8 per cent. Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, Rio Tinto and Xstrata were 1.5 to 2.9 per cent higher.
Swiss flavours and fragrances maker Givaudan gained 5.4 per cent after posting a forecast-beating 9.2 per cent rise in first-quarter sales.