Technology leads gains on Eurofirst

In the eurozone on Thursday, a top defense contractor hoped for a contract in the United States, and the technology sector was up, but at least one automobile manufacturer saw its share value decline slightly.

Porsche saw its shares fall in value by 0.9 percent to €621.59, although they had hit a record high earlier on news that it will be producing a fourth model line.

EADS, the biggest defense contractor in Europe, saw the value of its shares rise 2.8 percent on the news that it had gained the support of the US Congress in its pursuit of a contract worth $100 billion that it is in competition with Boeing to win.

EADS has chosen a site in Alabama where it will assemble military aircraft for the Pentagon if its bid is successful.

In the technology sector, Infineon, the German semiconductor group, saw the price of its shares rise 2.4 percent to €7.98 after reports surfaced that the company was thinking about spinning off its memory chip division. That report, however, was later denied by Infineon’s chief executive. STMicroelectronics was up 1.5 percent to €13.60.

Swedish telecommunications group Ericsson gained 3.2 percent to €26.20 on a declaration by its chief executive that it would not sell its share of a joint venture in mobile phones with Sony.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.4 percent to close at 1,150 on Thursday, as investors seemed to take no note of continuing high oil prices.

Story link: Technology leads gains on Eurofirst