Commodities

LONDON (ShareCast) - Energy and banking shares are still leading the way in midday trade as European stocks continue to rise on the first day of the third quarter.

Total, Royal Dutch Shell (Amsterdam: RDSA.AS - news) and Eni (Milan: ENI.MI - news) are in demand after oil CLc1 rose above $71 a barrel. Oil plunged below $70 yesterday after US consumer confidence figures for May came in worse than expected.

Banks are also going well with BNP Paribas (Paris: FR0000131104 - news) and Deutsche Bank (Xetra: 514000 - news) all in positive territory.

Commerzbank (Xetra: 803200 - news) rallied more than 15% after the European Central Bank said it has no objections to Germany's "revised "bad bank" plan.

Across the markets, the German DAX is up 67 points at 4,876 with the French CAC rising 48 points to 3,188. The Swiss market has added 43 points to 5,447.

In economic news, eurozone manufacturing activity contracted less than initially forecast in June. The Markit PMI for the 16-country zone rose to 42.6 in June compared with 40.7 in the previous month and above the 42.4 'flash' estimate.

"The ongoing improvement in the manufacturing purchasing managers' survey in June indicates that the sector is increasingly benefiting from the major inventory correction that has occurred while both domestic and foreign orders are now falling at a substantially reduced rate after plunging in late-2008 and early-2009," said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight.

"Nevertheless, the survey indicates that manufacturing activity is still contracting appreciably, and it is likely that Eurozone producers will continue to find life difficult over the coming months as they are faced by still muted demand in domestic and export markets, as well as intensified competition."

CAC 40 (Paris: news) - Risers Carrefour (CA) € 31.95 +5.03% Veolia Environnement (Paris: FR0000124141 - news) (VIE) € 21.76 +3.67% Saint Gobain (Paris: FR0000125007 - news) (SGO) € 24.67 +3.53% PPR (Paris: FR0000121485 - news) (PP) € 60.08 +3.30% EADS (Paris: NL0000235190 - news) (EAD) € 11.88 +3.21% Essilor International (EI) € 35.00 +3.00% Unibail-Rodamco (UL) € 109.34 +3.00% ArcelorMittal SA (MT) € 24.09 +2.99% BNP Paribas (BNP) € 47.60 +2.92% Lagardere SCA (MMB) € 24.27 +2.53%

CAC 40 - Fallers Lafarge (Paris: FR0000120537 - news) (LG (003550.KS - news) ) € 47.15 -2.28% Vivendi (Paris: FR0000127771 - news) (VIV) € 16.95 -0.50%