posted by Bina | Monday, July 16, 2007
European shares hit fresh six-and-a-half year highs on Monday amid gains in the financials sector.
ABN Amro rose 3.9 per cent to €37.24 as Royal Bank of Scotland, up 2.3 per cent to 642p, sweetened the terms of its proposed bid for the Dutch lender.
While RBS kept its offer at €38.4-a-share, the bank raised the cash element of its €71.1bn proposal from 79 pert cent to 93 per cent.
The RBS move puts further pressure on Barclays agreed €35-a-share merger with ABN.
Barclays rose 1.5 per cent to 735p on hopes it would be taken off should the RBS bid succeed.
Other bank stocks also gained, with Alliance & Leicester up 3.7 per cent to £11.65 and Sociéte Générale 1.6 per cent higher at €138.11.
In the wider market, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 3.59 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 1,630.9, its highest level since November 2000.
Elsewhere, Bayer rose 1.3 per cent to €57.05 as JPMorgan lifted its price target on the chemicals and pharmaceuticals group from €63 to €70.
Hennes & Mauritz gained 0.5 per cent to SKr 417.5 as comparable sales at the Swedish clothing chain rose 17 per cent in June.
Source : www.ft.com
ABN Amro rose 3.9 per cent to €37.24 as Royal Bank of Scotland, up 2.3 per cent to 642p, sweetened the terms of its proposed bid for the Dutch lender.
While RBS kept its offer at €38.4-a-share, the bank raised the cash element of its €71.1bn proposal from 79 pert cent to 93 per cent.
The RBS move puts further pressure on Barclays agreed €35-a-share merger with ABN.
Barclays rose 1.5 per cent to 735p on hopes it would be taken off should the RBS bid succeed.
Other bank stocks also gained, with Alliance & Leicester up 3.7 per cent to £11.65 and Sociéte Générale 1.6 per cent higher at €138.11.
In the wider market, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 3.59 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 1,630.9, its highest level since November 2000.
Elsewhere, Bayer rose 1.3 per cent to €57.05 as JPMorgan lifted its price target on the chemicals and pharmaceuticals group from €63 to €70.
Hennes & Mauritz gained 0.5 per cent to SKr 417.5 as comparable sales at the Swedish clothing chain rose 17 per cent in June.
Source : www.ft.com
Labels: money
