LONDON (AFX) - European markets at close
LONDON (AFX) - Leading shares closed higher today, with further gains across the miners and fresh M&A talk among financials giving the FTSE 100 a leg-up towards the 6,000 level in thin Labor Day volumes, dealers said.
The FTSE 100 index ended the day 37.5 points higher at 5,986.6, while the broader indices were also higher.
However, volume remained below par, with 2.07 bln shares changing hands in 287,150 deals, hindered by the US Labor Day public holiday and, for some, the last day of the school holidays.
FRANKFURT (AFX) - Shares closed higher, as oil prices fell amid the market's continued scepticism towards immediate sanctions being imposed on Iran, and as Siemens and Linde gained sharply, while no direction came from the US as markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday, dealers said.
At closing, the DAX 30 index was 33.18 points or 0.56 pct higher at 5,909.72, having moved between 5,890.01 and 5,917.24 so far this session.
The MDAX was at 8,264.29, up 61.03 points or 0.74 pct, while the TecDAX was at 655.28, up 3.47 points or 0.53 pct.
PARIS (AFX) - Share prices closed higher as oil prices dropped back, although trade was thin and gains were capped ahead of a flurry of French corporate results due midweek and with US markets closed, dealers said.
The CAC-40 index closed up 19.79 points or 0.38 pct at 5,203.24, on volume of 3.0 bln eur.
Prior to today, the CAC-40 had not closed above 5,200 points since May 11.
AMSTERDAM (AFX) - Shares in Amsterdam closed broadly higher amid positive sentiment due to falling oil prices and a stronger Wall Street, dealers said.
The AEX closed 2.65 points or 0.56 pct higher at 473.58 after trading in a range of 471.70-474.40.
BRUSSELS (AFX) - Shares closed barely changed ahead of tomorrow afternoon's second-quarter results from financial services group Dexia, traders said.
The Bel 20 was up 4.06 points or 0.10 pct at 3,928.32.
MILAN (AFX) - Milan shares closed slightly higher, underpinned by strong gains in Telecom Italia ahead of a meeting on Thursday with News Corp to discuss a content deal, dealers said.
The Mibtel index closed 0.30 pct higher at 29,309 points and the S&P/Mib rose 0.15 pct to 38,218.
Volumes totaled 3.15 bln eur.
MADRID (AFX) - Share prices closed at a new annual high amid thin trade and falling oil prices, with selected media stocks and constructors leading gains, while Telefonica weighed after a UBS downgrade, dealers said.
The IBEX-35 index rose 85.6 points to 12,278.6, after trading in a range of 12,210-12,282 on a volume of 2.3 bln eur.
ZURICH (AFX) - Shares closed higher, with sentiment boosted by falling oil prices, but trading volumes were exceptionally thin as US markets remained closed for Labor Day, dealers said.
The Swiss Market Index closed 41.05 points higher at 8,230.15, and the Swiss Performance Index closed 29.16 points higher at 6,406.94.
STOCKHOLM (AFX) - Stockholm shares closed sharply higher, buoyed by strong gains for SCA on positive news from its capital markets day, and for engineering stocks amid lower oil prices, brokers said.
The OMX Stockholm index closed up 1.30 pct at 325.28, and the OMX Stockholm 30 up 1.40 pct at 1011.58.
Top stories
BRUSSELS (AFX) - Euro-zone producer prices rose 0.6 pct in July from June, and were up 5.9 pct year-on-year, EU statistics office Eurostat said.
Economists polled by AFX News had forecast an increase of 0.5 pct from June and a year-on-year rise of 5.8 pct.
PARIS (AFX) - Troubled European planemaker Airbus on Monday launched a management shake-up designed to revive its delay-hit A380 superjumbo programme.
Airbus, owned by EADS and BAE Systems PLC, said the former head of its single-aisle jet operations, Mario Heinen, would replace Charles Champion as the senior vice president and head of the A380 programme.
It also said the former head of its delivery centres in Toulouse and Hamburg, Alain Flourens, 49, would become the head of its A320 single-aisle programme.
LONDON (AFX) - Engineering group IMI PLC said it expects to close a number of plants in North America and Western Europe in the next three years as it moves to tackle rising raw material costs.
Chief executive Martin Lamb said the group anticipates shutting about six of its 70 factories in the two regions, which employ about 1,000 staff, during the period as it moves work to lower cost economies such as Mexico, the Czech Republic and China.
Lower cost locations account for about 25 pct of IMI's production and the firm, which employs 15,000 people globally, estimates that will rise to about 40 pct in the next three to four years, with the workforce at those sites lifting from about 1,500 to 2,500.
IMI also said pretax profit before restructuring costs, amortisation and exceptional items in the six months to June 30 rose 27 pct to 88.1 mln stg on a 14 pct rise in sales to 732 mln stg. The interim dividend rose 5.3 pct to 7 pence and basic earnings per share were 14.5 p against a loss per share of 12 p last time.
MILAN (AFX) - An Eni SpA spokesman confirmed a report that it is interested in acquiring Siberian energy firm Arctic Gas Co, which is being put up for sale by Yukos.
However, he declined to confirm a report that Russia's ESN energy company would take a 50.1 pct stake in the bidding consortium and Enel SpA 19.9.
MILAN (AFX) - Banca Intesa SpA reported a rise in second-quarter net profits, to 725 mln eur from 580 mln a year earlier, thanks to higher revenues and lower provisions and write-downs.
Total revenues rose to 2.554 bln eur from 2.440 bln and operating profit rose to 1.214 bln from 1.144 bln, as operating costs increased to 1.340 bln from 1.296 bln.
Provisions and writedowns fell to 188 mln eur from 244 mln a year earlier, it said.
Analysts polled by AFX News expected second quarter net profit to rise 640-658 mln eur, operating profit to be 1.248-1.277 bln and total revenues to reach 2.604-2.642 bln.
LONDON (AFX) - Real estate group Hammerson PLC said profits jumped in the first half of the year, lifted by higher rental income and a sharp increase in the value of its investment properties.
Hammerson, which manages a portfolio of office and retail properties in the UK, France and Germany, said pretax profit for the six months to June 30 came in at 384.8 mln stg, up 55.6 pct from 247.3 mln stg in the same period last year.
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