| CATEGORY: INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES SECTOR: OIL & GAS PRODUCERS |
European midday: UBS figures boost banks |
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Tue 27 Jul 2010
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LONDON (SHARECAST) - Europes leading exchanges have added to gains in the first half of the day, with banks leading the way after Switzerlands UBS beat earnings estimates.
Investors also focus on BP. The oil giant confirmed Tony Hayward is to step down as chief executive of the group on 1 October to be succeeded by fellow executive director Bob Dudley.
The group also unveiled a $32.2bn charge for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, including the $20bn it has already committed to putting in escrow. As a result the company reported a headline loss of $17bn for the second quarter, the largest ever by a UK company.
Across the markets, the Dax in Frankfurt has gained 43 points to 6,237, with the Cac in Paris up 40 points to 3,676. The Swiss market has added 76 points to 6,276.
Shares in UBS rallied after the Swiss bank swung to a forecast-beating second-quarter net profit. Net profit came to 2bn Swiss francs from a loss of 1.4bn francs last time. That was well above expectations for a 1.26bn francs profit.
Revenue jumped 59% to 9.19bn and was also well ahead of consensus forecasts. "I remain confident in our future and I firmly believe that we have the right strategy in place," said chief executive Oswald Gruebel.
Deutsche Bank advanced after Germanys biggest lender reported a 9% rise in second-quarter earnings despite a weaker performance in its investment banking unit. Net profits increased to 1.2bn in the April to June period, up from 1.1bn a year ago, while revenues fell to 7.2bn from 7.9bn previously. Pre-tax profits rose 16% to 1.5bn.
Corporate and investment banking revenues fell to 4.7bn for the quarter compared with 5.3bn in the year-ago period, though revenues in global transaction banking rose to 1.1bn from 654m.
Elsewhere in the sector, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are also in demand.
The sector was also lifted by rumours that banking regulator the Basel Committee is set to lower its minimum capital and liquidity requirements.
Danone, the French food company behind Evian water and Activia yogurt, is currently the biggest faller in Paris after profit margins weakened in the first half.
CAC 40 - Risers
Credit Agricole (ACA) 10.63 +10.19%
Societe Generale (GLE) 43.37 +8.44%
Dexia (DEXB) 3.85 +6.71%
BNP Paribas (BNP) 54.07 +6.02%
AXA (CS) 14.08 +5.47%
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) 2.18 +2.25%
Veolia Environnement (VIE) 20.39 +1.52%
EDF (EDF) 32.01 +1.36%
Technip (TEC) 53.15 +0.97%
Bouygues (EN) 33.01 +0.89%
CAC 40 - Fallers
Danone (BN) 44.60 -3.70%
EADS (EAD) 17.55 -2.26%
Accor (AC) 25.20 -2.23%
Schneider Electric (SU) 88.82 -1.58%
PPR (PP) 103.50 -1.48%
LVMH (MC) 93.82 -1.27%
Vallourec (VK) 79.41 -1.18%
Pernod Ricard (RI) 62.21 -0.94%
Sanofi-Aventis (SAN) 45.19 -0.87%
Cap Gemini (CAP) 35.15 -0.62%
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