Optimism over economy boosts European indices

Eurostoxx 50: 3,011.25 (+5.92) Frankfurt DAX: 7,514.46 (+39.24) Paris CAC: 4,106.92 (+2.02)EUROPEAN STOCKS advanced for a seventh day yesterday, the longest winning streak this year, as better than estimated earnings boosted confidence in the economy and a report showed US consumer spending rose last month.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 per cent to 283.8 at the close in London, extending this week’s gain to 1.2 per cent.

“There’s still upside pressure to equity prices,” said Christian Falkner, an analyst at Alpha Wertpapierhandels in Frankfurt.

“Good earnings and low interest rates create a very favourable environment for equities and people who reduced their exposure during Japan’s catastrophe are forced to increase it again as the market is reaching new highs,” he said.

Germany’s DAX added 0.4 per cent while France’s CAC 40 dropped less than 0.1 per cent.

UK markets were closed for the royal wedding.

Of the 113 companies in the Stoxx 600 that have reported earnings since April 11th, 66 have beaten analyst forecasts for per share profit, according to Bloomberg.

Yara advanced 4.5 per cent to 306.3 kroner as the world’s largest publicly traded nitrogen-fertilizer maker reported first-quarter net income of 2.89 billion kroner ($550 million), compared with 1.52 billion kroner a year earlier.

SSAB jumped 8.8 per cent to 107.10 kronor, the biggest gain in a year and a half, as the high-tensile steel supplier said first-quarter net income rose to 390 million kronor from 143 million kronor a year earlier.

ASA, a Norwegian maker of solar energy components, soared 7.8 per cent to 18.50 kroner, while Phoenix Solar, a German clean-energy developer, surged 8 per cent to €21.80.

Total, Europe’s third-biggest oil producer, agreed to buy 60 per cent of SunPower, a US solar-panel maker.

YIT sank 4.5 per cent to €20.30 as the Finnish builder reported first-quarter net income of €24.8 million, missing the €44.9 million average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Daimler declined 2.4 per cent to €51.82 even as the car maker said first-quarter earnings before interest and taxes rose to €2.03 billion from €1.19 billion a year earlier. – (Bloomberg)