MW: European shares eke out gains as earnings eyed
Credit Suisse, Roche Group, Deutsche Post advance after updating investors
By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European shares edged higher on Thursday, as earnings-related gains -- this time from Credit Suisse, Roche Group and Deutsche Post -- continued to offer support to markets.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index (ST:SXXP 216.58, +0.93, +0.43%) climbed 0.3% to 216.24.
The Stoxx 600 index has traded at levels not seen since last November this week as investors took on board more second-quarter earnings reports.
Contributing to Thursday's earnings news was Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CH:CSGN 48.96, -0.90, -1.81%) (CS 46.20, -0.56, -1.20%) , up 2.9%.
The Zurich financial-services giant reported that second-quarter net income rose 29% on 11% higher revenue. Profit reached 1.57 billion Swiss francs ($1.47 billion), or 1.18 francs a share, from 1.22 billion francs, or 0.97, in the year-earlier quarter.
Shares of Swiss drug maker Roche Holding (CH:ROG 154.50, +1.60, +1.05%) (RHHB.Y 36.17, +0.37, +1.03%) rose 3%. It said that first-half net income declined 29% to 4.04 billion Swiss francs after charges related to its takeover of Genentech but it also raised its 2009 outlook.
It expects sales for both of its divisions to grow well ahead of the market in 2009, while core earnings are expected to grow by double-digits in 2009 and 2010.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Post (DE:DPW 10.49, +0.50, +5.02%) shares jumped 3.4% after it said that it expects 2009 net profit to substantially exceed 2008's figure.
The firm posted a 71% drop in second-quarter net profit to 66 million euros, but this was better than the 83 million euro loss analysts had been expecting.
Regional markets were mostly flat, with the U.K. FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 4,497, +2.91, +0.07%) trading at 4.492.54 and the German DAX index (DX:DAX 5,139, +17.01, +0.33%) at 5,120.77. The French CAC-40 index (FR:PX1 3,314, +8.64, +0.26%) edged up 0.1% at 3,306.73.
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a mildly positive open on Wall Street. Asian shares were mostly higher. See Asia Markets.
Still, losses for Volkswagen (DE:VOW 242.98, -6.40, -2.57%) , down 1.7%, and Porsche (DE:PAH3 51.70, -1.07, -2.03%) , down 2%, weighed.
Porsche said that Wendelin Wiedeking has agreed to resign as chief executive of the sports-car maker he has run since 1992, and will accept a 50 million euro ($71.2 million) termination fee. Michael Macht, currently board member of Porsche AG in charge of production and logistics, will be the next CEO.
Separately, Porsche's board said it will accept preparations for a 5 billion euro capital raising and Qatar's potential investment for a possible deal with Volkswagen.
