MW: European shares up for third time in four sessions
By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European shares moved higher on Thursday, rising for the third time in four sessions, with both 3i Group and BT Group announcing a move back into profit.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index (ST:SXXP 257.28, +0.68, +0.27%) rose 0.8% to 258.62, building on a 1.5% gain made on Wednesday, as the index continues to recoup some of last week's losses following the massive European aid package over the weekend.
The euro also retook a bit of ground lost against the dollar, trading up 0.3% at $1.2676, and copper and oil futures climbed.
That helped miners to advance, with Rio Tinto (UK:RIO 3,357, +62.50, +1.90%) (RTP 49.17, +0.70, +1.44%) shares up 2.2% and Vedanta Resources (UK:VED 2,513, +17.00, +0.68%) shares up 2.2%.
Gains were also taking place on the regional level in Europe, with the U.K. FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 5,401, +17.38, +0.32%) up 0.8% at 5,427.81, the German DAX index (DX:DAX 6,215, +30.09, +0.49%) up 0.9% at 6,236.90 and the French CAC-40 index (FR:PX1 3,735, +1.08, +0.03%) up 0.7% at 3,761.29.
Across other regions, Asian shares were higher and U.S. stock futures were pointing to gains on Wall Street. Read more on Asia Markets.
Back in Europe, shares of private equity firm 3i Group (UK:III 283.60, +15.50, +5.78%) jumped 6.3% after it swung to a fiscal-year profit of 154 million pounds, from a loss of £1.95 billion a year earlier.
"I am confident we will see some outstanding opportunities in the next three years and believe we are now well placed, with a focused business model, good liquidity and a strong balance sheet to invest in and build some great businesses," said CEO Michael Queen.
Telecom firm BT Group (UK:BT.A 130.20, +9.76, +8.10%) (BT 17.93, +0.04, +0.22%) also swung back into the black in its fiscal fourth-quarter, reporting a pretax profit of £251 million. Last year, the firm posted a loss of £1.3 billion.
The Madrid telecom-services giant, reported first-quarter earnings rose 2% to 1.66 billion euros ($2.11 billion) and affirmed earnings estimates for 2010.
SAP (DE:SAP 35.25, -1.00, -2.76%) (SAP 44.90, -0.47, -1.04%) declined 2.4% after it said it's agreed to buy California.-based Sybase for roughly $5.8 billion. Read more on SAP deal.
The Sofia Antipolis, France, drug developer, said that two panels within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 16 to 1 with one abstention "that they did not have sufficient evidence at this time to support" clearing naproxcinod for marketing to relieve the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.
The FDA is not bound by the decision of the two panels but may consider the recommendation when it decides whether to clear naproxcinod, the company said. The company expects the FDA to make that decision by July 24.
