Monday June 18, 12:20 PM
European stocks stable amid ICI takeover bid
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LONDON (AFP) - Europe's main stock markets held steady at the half-way stage on Monday, amid news of a 14-billion-dollar takeover bid for British chemicals group Imperial Chemical Industries (LSE: ICI.L - news) .
Dealers also tracked the Paris Air Show in France, where more large orders were expected across the global aerospace sector this week.
In European deals, London's FTSE 100 (news) index of leading shares eased 0.03 percent to 6,730.10 points, in Paris the CAC 40 (Paris: news) slid 0.09 percent to 6,099.59 points, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 (Xetra: news) firmed 0.47 percent to 8,068.40.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares slipped 0.18 percent to 4,542.99 points.
The euro stood at 1.3409 dollars.
Despite Monday's subdued showing in Europe, the global outlook remained upbeat for equities, dealers said.
"Global equities remain strong following tame US inflation numbers on Friday, which have eased fears of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve Bank," said analysts at the Sucden brokerage in London.
US stocks extended their rally to a third day on Friday as an eagerly awaited monthly inflation snapshot had revealed prices largely in check, excluding food and energy.
Japanese share prices gained nearly one percent on Monday, passing the symbolic 18,000-point barrier, in the wake US gains. Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index struck an all-time high.
European investors focused Monday on news that Britain's Imperial Chemical Industries has rejected a takeover offer of 7.2 billion pounds (10.7 billion euros, 14.3 billion dollars) from Dutch rival Akzo Nobel (Amsterdam: AKZA.AS - news) .
ICI shares rocketed 16.8 percent to 641 pence after earlier touching as high as 644 pence in London.
However, in Amsterdam, Akzo Nobel stock fell 1.90 percent to 60.41 euros.
In Paris, the price of shares in the EADS European aerospace group gained 0.86 percent to 24.49 euros after its main business Airbus (Paris: NL0000235190 - news) fired the first shots at the Paris Air Show on Monday.
Airbus announced new orders for its troubled superjumbo A380 from Qatar Airways and Dubai-based Emirates.
Shares in Rolls-Royce rose 1.33 percent to 554 pence after the British aero engine maker announced a contract worth 5.6 billion dollars to install Trent engines in Airbus A350 XWB airliners ordered by Qatar Airways.
In Frankfurt, meanwhile, Merck (MERK.JK - news) shares won 1.41 percent to 105.05 euros.
The German pharmaceutical company said on Monday that its top-selling Bion 3 probiotics, multivitamin and mineral product would be its first product to be sold in Japan. Bion 3 is already available in 30 countries around the world.
In US deals on Friday, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up a hefty 0.63 percent at 13,639.48 points while the Nasdaq composite (NASDAQ: news) finished up 1.05 percent at 2,626.71 points.
The Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index gained 0.65 percent to close at 1,532.91.
Stocks raced higher after the government said its consumer price index (CPI (NYSE: CPY - news) ) rose 0.7 percent in May but that the "core" inflation rate, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, advanced just 0.1 percent.
The CPI reading calmed investors fears that potential interest rate hikes could be in the cards.
In Asia on Monday, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei (news) -225 index of top shares rose 0.99 percent to close at 18,149.52 points, its highest level since February 26, as the market was encouraged by the softer yen which supports exporters, dealers said.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed up 2.69 percent at 21,582.89 points -- a new record high -- as strong interest in China stocks led the market to its largest single-day turnover, analysts said.
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