Banks gain across the board; car makers also higher
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — European stock markets responded positively on Monday to news that Ireland has applied for a rescue package in an effort to safeguard financial stability, with the banking sector driving the bulk of early gains.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index (ST:STOXX600 270.79, +1.29, +0.48%) rose 0.6% to 271.08 in morning trading, following a loss of 0.3% last week.
Late Sunday, the Irish government said it has formally applied for aid from the European Union, which in turn welcomed the request. The International Monetary Fund also said it stands ready to join the support program, including through a multi-year loan.
No specific number has been given, but Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan reportedly said it would be less than 100 billion euros ($136.7 billion). The troubled state of the Irish banking sector had made a bailout deal seem all but inevitable in recent days.
The Irish ISEQ index (XX:IEOP 2,803, +4.93, +0.18%) rose 0.8% to 2,819.80, led by building-materials group CRH PLC (IE:CRG 15.14, +0.31, +2.06%) , which rallied 5%.
Elsewhere in the periphery of the euro zone, Portugal’s PSI 20 index (XX:PSI20 7,926, +30.62, +0.39%) jumped nearly 1% to 7966.56 and Spain’s IBEX 35 index (XX:IBEX 10,264, -7.60, -0.07%) rose 0.8% to 10,352.30.
The market turbulence triggered by worries over Ireland had threatened to spill over in recent days to other high-deficit countries such as Portugal and Spain.
In London, shares of Barclays PLC (UK:BARC 275.05, +0.85, +0.31%) (BCS 17.66, -0.09, -0.51%) rose 1.1%, helping to lift the FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 5,751, +17.90, +0.31%) 0.7% to 5,770.11. Shares of Cairn Energy PLC (UK:CNE 376.90, +3.80, +1.02%) gained 1.5%.
In Germany, the DAX 30 index (DX:DAX 6,879, +35.25, +0.52%) rose 0.7% to 6,891.52, with preferred shares of Volkswagen AG (DE:VOW3 125.78, +2.58, +2.09%) gaining 2.8% and BMW AG (DE:BMW 58.50, +1.84, +3.25%) rising around 3%.
In France, the CAC 40 index (FR:PX1 3,879, +18.35, +0.48%) rose 0.6% to 3,884.56, as Renault SA (FR:RNO 44.50, +1.38, +3.19%) gained 2.8% and PSA Peugeot Citroen (FR:UG 31.59, +0.52, +1.67%) traded up 2.1%. |
