Europe rallies at close, Serco plummets
European shares closed higher on Monday staging a last minute rally, with Carlsberg (Copenhagen Stock Exchange: CARL.B-DK) gaining after reporting earnings, and shares in Serco (London Stock Exchange: SRP-GB) sinking over 30 percent.
The French CAC (Euronext Paris: .FCHI) outperformed its European peers, provisionally closing 0.7 percent higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 (FTSE International: .FTSE) unofficially ended around 0.6 higher, while the German DAX (^GDAXI) saw gains of around 0.6 percent at market close. The FTSEurofirst 300 (FTSE International: .FTEU3) provisionally closed 0.7 higher with shares in brewer Carlsberg (Copenhagen Stock Exchange: CARL.B-DK) rising over 3 percent after the group posted a third-quarter profit and kept its outlook as a growing market in Asia offset challenges in Russia.
Read More Carlsberg sales grow but Russia weighs on earnings U.S. stocks rose Monday, lifting benchmarks to records, as investors tracked corporate results as the earnings season starts to wind down. After toppling its intraday record high hit Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lately up 0.1 percent. Also hitting an all-time high, the S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent with health care advancing the most and energy the leading laggard among its 10 major industry groups. President Barack Obama said Monday the American economy was primed for "steadier, more sustained growth," and he called for deeper economic ties with China. Over 20 world leaders, including President Obama, are attending a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) community in Beijing. Topics up for discussion range from economic integration and reform to growth prospects.
Read More US welcomes peaceful, prosperous China: Obama Pouring cold water on expectations of a trans-Pacific trade deal, however, the U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said on Sunday that there will be "no major announcement" at the APEC summit. In European news, just over 80 percent of Catalans in the north east of Spain voted for independence from the rest of the country in a symbolic, non-binding vote on Sunday. The so-called "consultation of citizens" follows a legal block by the central government against a more formal referendum.
Iran, the United States and European Union will hold an unscheduled second day of talks on Monday on disagreements blocking resolution of a dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, a U.S. official and Iranian state media said according to a Reuters report.
Fugro surges 44 percent In stocks news, shares in Britain's Serco (London Stock Exchange: SRP-GB) were down over 30 percent after the group said it would raise up to £550 million ($874.5 million) through a rights issue after cutting its 2014 profit warning.
Meanwhile Fugro (Euronext Amsterdam: FUR-NL) shares jumped around 49 percent after sector peer Boskalis bought about 15 percent of its shares. Boskalis denied any intention of making a full bid, but its surprise purchase boosted takeover hopes in the sector. Dutch firm Nutreco (Euronext Amsterdam: NUO-NL) surged 14 percent after SHV, a family-owned Dutch investment firm, raised its offer for the nutrition company. Shares in U.K. retailer Sainsbury's sank over 2 percent as investors await the supermarket's strategic review where the group is expected to scrap a giant program of store openings and slash its dividend, as part of a dramatic overhaul drawn up to fight falling sales. Rival Tesco (London Stock Exchange: TSCO-GB) posted gains of over 4 percent after a positive note from broker Bernstein Research.
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