Banking sector leads on eurofirst peak

Advances in the FTSE Eurofirst 300 on Monday were fueled by news of takeovers and rumors of possible takeovers in the cement and banking sectors, as well as on a strong performance on Wall Street.

In the cement sector, HeidelbergCement saw the value of its shares rise by 18.91 percent to €59.75 after the announcement on Friday that Spohn Cement had offered €60 per share in a takeover bid, a price which valued the company at €6.5 billion.

Meanwhile, in the banking sector, Italian bank UniCredito said on Sunday that it had agreed to purchase HVB Group in Germany for €20 billion. This news sent shares in UniCredito up 3.05 percent to €4.22l. HVB rose 2.7 percent to €20.56 on the news.

Additionally, Dutch bank ABN Arno announced Friday that it was upping its bid for Italian bank Banca Antonveneta to €26.50 per share, up from €25 per share. ABN’s shares dropped 0.97 percent to €19.43 as investor signaled their disapproval of the deal.

Banca Antonveneta’s shares, however, advanced 2.93 percent to €27.02. Banco Popolare di Lodi, which is also in the bidding for Banca Antonveneta, saw the value of its shares rise 0.18 percent to €7.925.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.4 percent on Monday to close at 1,135.23 after peaking at 1,135.24 earlier in the day, its highest level since June 2002.

Story link: Banking sector leads on eurofirst peak