Reply #32: Europe moves higher as earnings dominate [View All]

[Ghost Dog]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/aef90d0a-bb3e-11db-afe4-0000779e2340.html

European equity markets rallied on Tuesday following a number of strong earnings, but gains were fragile after the previous session’s losses.

By mid morning, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.1 per cent to 1,535.12, Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax gained 0.4 per cent to 6,882.86, the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.4 per cent to 5,664.97 and London’s FTSE !00 climbed 0.2 per cent to 6,366.4.

UBS, the Swiss investment bank, reported record full-year profits that beat expectations thanks to strong growth in its wealth management unit. The company raised its dividend and announced a SFr16bn share buyback.

The shares however, fell 1.1 per cent to SFr78.75 as investors focused on the company’s growing cost base following a string of acquisitions and the addition of 8,500 new staff last year.

Norway’s Renewable Energy Corp (REC) gained 4.5 per cent to NKr151.50 after reporting a better-than-expected 86 per cent jump in fourth-quarter core earnings. The maker of solar power equipment said a number of one-off items had contributed to the result, but the outlook for further strong growth looked good, REC said.

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