Oil futures still up while car makers down

In the European markets at midday on Monday, stocks in oil companies were higher but most automobile manufacturers were lower.

In the energy sector, OMV was up 1.9 percent, BP had advanced 1.5 percent, and Statoil rose 1.6 percent on news of higher crude oil prices that were a result of fears of a tight summer supply in the U.S.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Volvo fell 0.7 percent despite positive news in their quarterly earnings report, and Renault was down 0.8 percent. Fiat rose 0.4 percent, however.

The technology sector was generally down as well. Ericsson was down 1.9 percent, Alcatel declined 0.4 percent, and Tele2 was off by 4.9 percent after a disappointing first quarter earnings report.

Things were a little better in the pharmaceutical sector, with German drug maker Schering up 1.4 percent on news of good first quarter earnings.

At the midpoint in the trading day, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was at 1,076.08, up 0.3 percent. The Xetra Dax in Frankfurt was up 0.5 percent to 4,245.76.

In Paris, meanwhile, the CAC-40 rose 0.3 percent to 3,993.44, in spite of reports of weak economic growth in Germany and on worries brought on by higher oil prices.

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