In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.9 percent to 1,229.21.
The banking sector was responsible for 41 percent of the index’s advance. Insurers and automobile manufacturers also did well.
DaimlerChrysler gained 1.7 percent to €45.65 ahead of an expected announcement of 5,000 to 8,000 jobs to be cut. Helped by a stronger dollar, BMW was up 1.3 percent to €38.90, Peugeot rose by 2.7 percent to €57.40, and Renault added 3.2 percent to €79.65. Volkswagen was up 1.9 percent to €38.30. Bucking the sector trend, Porsche lost 3.6 percent on the day to €642.29 as investors were still not sure they liked the carmaker’s plan to buy 20 percent of VW.
In the insurance sector, Munich Re gained 1.7 percent to €94.71 as it announced its estimate of its loss burden related to both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Swiss reinsurer Converium gained 1.2 percent to SFr12.95, also after it released estimated hurricane-related losses. Allianz gained 4 percent to €111.40 on an upgrade of its rating from “hold” to “buy” by Deutsche Bank, which also upped the insurer’s price target from €115 to €127.
In the banking sector, Vienna-listed Raiffeisen International gained 7.6 percent to €53.52 on an initial “buy” rating from UBS. BNP Paribas received an upgrade from “in-line” to “outperform” from Goldman Sachs, gaining 2.4 percent to €62.60. BNP Paribas rival Societe Generale gained 1.7 percent to €94.80 after BNP’s chief executive said a merger between the two was not likely.
Elsewhere in the sector, Credit Agricole gained 3.4 percent to €24.45, Deutsche Bank added 2.6 percent to €77.85, and Commerzbank also rose 2.6 percent to €22.82.