Paper stocks, autos drive European shares higher
Reuters|
Mar 06, 2018, 03.08 PM IST
LONDON: European shares bounced off six-months lows on Tuesday as the focus shifted from politics to dealmaking and earnings, with paper and packaging stocks soaring after Smurfit Kappa rejected a bid approach.
Telecom Italia jumped 5 per cent after Bloomberg reported that activist investor Elliott Management was building a stake, in a move to challenge the way top shareholder Vivendi is managing the company.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.6 per cent in early deals, while Italy's benchmark recouped all of its losses from the previous session, up 1 per cent, as concerns over political uncertainty following an inconclusive election result eased.
Germany's DAX was particularly buoyant, rising more than 1 per cent, led higher by autos stocks Volkswagen , Daimler and BMW which have been hit by concerns over an imminent trade war after US President Donald Trump proposed imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Those worries have dissipated slightly as Trump faces a growing pushback from political and diplomatic allies as well as US companies.
European autos were the best-performing sector on the day, up 1.4 per cent and putting the industry back into positive territory for the year, along with tech stocks.
Paper and packaging maker Smurfit Kappa jumped 18 per cent after rejecting an approach from International Paper . Peers DS Smith and Mondi both rose more than 5 per cent.
Earnings weighed on Just Eat, however, which dropped more than 12 per cent and was on track for its worst day on record after saying that a planned increase in spending in 2018 would hit core earnings.
Telecom Italia jumped 5 per cent after Bloomberg reported that activist investor Elliott Management was building a stake, in a move to challenge the way top shareholder Vivendi is managing the company.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.6 per cent in early deals, while Italy's benchmark recouped all of its losses from the previous session, up 1 per cent, as concerns over political uncertainty following an inconclusive election result eased.
Germany's DAX was particularly buoyant, rising more than 1 per cent, led higher by autos stocks Volkswagen , Daimler and BMW which have been hit by concerns over an imminent trade war after US President Donald Trump proposed imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Those worries have dissipated slightly as Trump faces a growing pushback from political and diplomatic allies as well as US companies.
European autos were the best-performing sector on the day, up 1.4 per cent and putting the industry back into positive territory for the year, along with tech stocks.
Paper and packaging maker Smurfit Kappa jumped 18 per cent after rejecting an approach from International Paper . Peers DS Smith and Mondi both rose more than 5 per cent.
Earnings weighed on Just Eat, however, which dropped more than 12 per cent and was on track for its worst day on record after saying that a planned increase in spending in 2018 would hit core earnings.
