European shares turn positive, financials lead
European shares erased early losses to turn positive in late morning trading on Thursday, led by banks, insurance and financial services stocks. At 1007 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.1% at 1.174.15 points, having fallen as much as 0.7% earlier. Banks were up 1.6%, insurance gained 1% and financial services rose 0.8%. Around Europe, Germany's DAX is off 0.2%, France's CAC is right around unchanged, and London's FTSE is higher by 0.3%. (Reuters)
In Europe, mkts fell, led by financials amid ongoing worries about the health of the sector and energy majors as crude oil prices extended the previous session's steep slide. Activity was subdued because of a holiday in Britain which meant that markets in London were closed. In other news, the European Central Bank will announce changes to the rules governing its money-market auctions in coming weeks to head off the risk of abuse by financial institutions, council member Yves Mersch said... In Germany, the DAX fell 0.7%, tracking Wall Street following a day of lackluster trade largely devoid of local market-moving news, with rising oil prices further weighing on sentiment. Leading blue chips lower, Linde dropped 2.5%. Adidas slipped 2.0% after traders said the focus on the stock is fading after the end of the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing. Close behind, Commerzbank shed 1.7% after traders said investors might be worried the bank is prepared to pay too much to buy Allianz SE's Dresdner Bank unit and synergies might be overstated. The takeover speculation helped boost Allianz (AZ), which rose with four other DAX gainers. Infineon... In France, the CAC tumbled 1.0%. EADS declined 2.3% after Airbus is facing U.S. order cancellations, Le Figaro reported. (Sources: Bloomberg, Thomson, Reuters)