European stocks flat in early trade
Ericsson and Vodafone in focus in telecoms sector
By Aude Lagorce, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — European shares traded in a tight range on Monday as the mining and oil sector provided support and several companies, including Vivendi SA and Rio Tinto PLC, contemplated deals.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index (ST:STOXX600 270.88, -0.06, -0.02%) edged up marginally to 270.98 in morning trading.
The index closed down 0.3% on Friday after a lower-than-expected increase in U.S. nonfarm payrolls rekindled worries over the state of the global economy. The labor report, however, came at the end of a solid week for the Stoxx 600, which advanced 1.6% overall.
Among the main regional indices on Monday, Germany’s DAX 30 (DX:DAX 6,949, +1.75, +0.03%) gained 0.2% to 6,963.37and the U.K’s FTSE 100 (UK:UKX 5,732, -13.08, -0.23%) inched 0.1% higher to 5,749.34. France’s CAC 40 index (FR:PX1 3,745, -5.41, -0.14%) was flat at 3,750.26.
Miners, which trade in tune with economic growth prospects, were among the main gainers. Shares of Xstrata PLC (UK:XTA 1,409, +19.00, +1.37%) climbed 2.6% and Anglo American PLC (UK:AAL 3,027, -24.00, -0.79%) rose 0.6%.
One exception was Rio Tinto PLC (UK:RIO 4,384, -32.50, -0.74%) , which declined 0.2% after Australia’s Riversdale Mining (AU:RIV 16.31, +2.21, +15.67%) said it had been approached by the company.
Oil-related shares were also on the rise Monday as the oil price neared $90 a barrel. Shares of BP PLC (UK:BP. 437.80, +2.60, +0.60%) (BP 41.49, +0.17, +0.41%) rose 0.8% in London and Total SA (FR:FP 38.33, +0.27, +0.70%) advanced 0.9% in Paris.
Among the peripheral markets, Spain’s IBEX 35 (XX:IBEX 9,923, -91.90, -0.92%) lost 0.9% and Italy’s FTSE MIB slipped 0.7%.
Ericsson, Vodafone in focus
In the telecom sector, shares of Ericsson AB (SE:ERICB 73.90, -0.75, -1.00%) (ERIC 10.96, +0.34, +3.20%) declined 0.5% after the equipment specialist announced that Chairman Michael Treschow would step down in 2011 or 2012.
On the operator side, shares of U.K. giant Vodafone Group PLC (UK:VOD 165.30, +1.25, +0.76%) (VOD 25.95, +0.04, +0.15%) gained 1.3%. The Observer newspaper reported that the company is finalizing a deal to sell its 44% stake in French mobile operator SFR to co-owner Vivendi SA (FR:VIV 19.85, +0.19, +0.94%) . Vivendi shares gained 0.9%.
Another big mover Monday was Hochtief AG (DE:HOT 61.56, +1.75, +2.93%) , which climbed 2.7%. The German construction company said Qatar Holding has become a major shareholder with an almost 9.1% stake.
In the retail sector, shares of British supermarket giant Tesco PLC (UK:TSCO 416.80, -10.10, -2.37%) fell 1.6% after it was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS.
AI
