In Europe on Monday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed 0.2 percent higher to 1,466.64 as the corporate earnings season continued to produce more positive surprise than negative ones.
In the construction sector, German group Bilfinger Berger added 1.7 percent to €48.40 after its first nine months were better than had been anticipated. The results earned the German builder an upgraded target share price from WestLB. Likewise, Spanish builder Sacyr Vallehermoso closed 15.2 percent higher to €54 on an increase in core earnings in its first nine months.
Deutsche Telekom added 2.6 percent to €13.48 and went as high as €13.62 during the day on the news that its chief executive had resigned and been replaced by the head of its mobile phone unit. Broker reaction was mixed. Morgan Stanley stuck with its rating of “overweight” and raised its target share price for the German telecom company from €13.10 to €13.50. Bear Stearns, on the other hand, repeated its recommendation of “underperform”, saying that a new chief executive would not make much of a difference on a board where the union controls nearly half of the seats.
Losers on the day included Novartis, which dropped 1 percent to SFr72.95 after it was announced that a US Food and Drug Administration decision on the approval of its diabetes drug, Galvus, for use in the United States, will be delayed for three months.