A FLURRY of corporate news among the fashion and luxury goods stocks made for a turbulent session in Paris where the CAC-40 index closed 67.28 higher at 4,219.65 after hitting an intra-day high of 4,241.90. Pinault- Printemps initially surged more than 6 per cent after a half-day suspension following reports that it was taking a 40 per cent stake in Gucci. It later receded to end €4.30 higher to €150.
The news, along with reports that Francois Pinault was buying Sanofi's beauty unit, upset the sector. Clarins rose €5.45 or 8 per cent to €74.50 while Hermes added €1.75 to €74.30.
Sanofi, whose planned merger with Synthelabo was cleared by the European Commission last week, rose sharply on the news, adding €10.80 to €160. LVMH dropped steeply in early trading before recovering after the company said it would bid for 100 per cent of Gucci if the Pinault-Printemps deal failed. The stock settled €3 ahead to €234.20.
Canal Plus had a second field day, forging €17.10 or 6.7 per cent ahead to €270.90 as investors cheered its 1999 profit forecast.
Frankfurt finished 1.7 per cent higher helped by Wall Street's rise above 10,000 on the Dow. The Xetra Dax index put on 82.96 to 5,108.75. BMW was an outperformer, rising €20.50 to €660 as the 1998 results restored a measure of investors' confidence. Analysts noted the loss at its UK Rover business was not as large as some analysts had expected.
DaimlerChrysler put on 96 cents to €85.60 and Volkswagen was €1.55 higher at €58.05. Henkel dived €5.98 to €74.01 in response to a muted growth outlook from the chemicals group. Man put on €1.35 to €26.15 in a technical rebound after recent sluggishness. Linde was €25 higher at €525.
Amsterdam rose steadily, shooting up briefly on a strong Wall Street opening before easing to close 9.58 higher to 547.17 on the AEX index. Gucci closed €3.10 up to €67, buoyed by news of the Pinault-Printemps deal. Baan recovered 13.8 per cent on bargain-hunting to close 95 cents higher to €7.85, still far below its all-time high of €49.33 a year ago.
Milan closed off its high, but still in positive territory, supported by activity in the banking sector and some other blue chips. The Mibtel index finished 151 higher at 25,238.
Among the banks, BCI traded as much as 6.7 per cent higher before settling to close 3.3 per cent better at €7.21 after the bank distanced itself from its possible merger partner, Banca di Roma. Roma dipped 1.3 per cent at €1.41, while Unicredito, another potential partner for BCI, put on 2 per cent to €5.29.
