European stocks post best three-day advance since January

Retailers and miners helped European stocks post their best three-day advance since January.

Analysts believe both sides will find a way to hold off on taking any action against Greece. At the same time, they point out that cheap credit and strong corporate balance sheets are likely to spur more merger and acquisitions, which will support European share prices.

DUBLIN

Index heavyweight, building materials giant,

CRH,

was down 0.79 per cent at the close after a day on which the shares dipped more sharply than that on the back of a number of sell orders. More than 550,000 of its equities changed hands in Dublin yesterday.

Another one of the market's bigger stocks, international packaging group, Smurfit Kappa, was off 0.4 per cent on news that a Mexican rival is boosting manufacturing capacity. Bank of Ireland tumbled 1.11 per cent to 35.6 cent after Citibank analysts published a note warning that the Irish lender remained vulnerable.

Drinks group, C&C, which is due to publish results on Wednesday, was off 1.77 per cent at €3.507. Permanent TSB Group Holdings, which recently returned to the market, was up 1.08 per cent at €4.70.

Property investment trust, Green Reit, slid 1.71 per cent to €1.555. It published an interim management statement yesterday saying building work has begun on an office block in its Central Park complex in Dublin. It has also secured €1.12 million in new contracted rent since the start of the year.

LONDON

Britain’s top share index edged down as a relief rally on the back of last week’s unexpectedly strong Conservative election victory petered out.

Rio Tinto Group, Glencore and BHP Billiton rose 1.1 per cent as commodities stocks across Europe rallied.

Energy shares fell back, however, with the UK Oil and Gas index down 0.7 percent, tracking a fall in crude oil prices.

Sage Group rose 2.3 percent after Goldman Sachs raised its price target for the stock.

Aberdeen Asset Management fell 0.4 percent after Societe Generale cut its stance on the stock to "hold" from "buy" and trimmed its target price to 485 pence from 490 pence.

Shares in Royal Mail rose 3.9 per cent after rival PostNL said it had suspended a UK delivery service called Whistl.

EUROPE

Delhaize Group

jumped 15 percent, the most since 2003, and

Royal Ahold

NV rallied 5.5 percent after reports that the companies are in early stages of merger talks.

Airbus Group lost 2.1 per cent following the crash of a military plane. The stock's slide helped drag down the French CAC 40 Index by 1.2 per cent, while Greece's ASE Index slid 2.5 per cent. Piraeus Bank SA and Eurobank Ergasias lost more than 10 per cent as euro-area finance ministers met to discuss bailout aid.

Intesa Sanpaolo added 1.9 per cent after saying first- quarter profit doubled; Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena gained 1.5 per cent as it posted a profit after 11 quarterly losses.

Greek stocks fell for a second day. The nation has to pay about €750 million euros to the IMF today. Volkswagen and Continental AG dropped more than 1.3 per cent as China's car sales fell in April.

German equities, among the worst performers in Europe last month, started luring investors back. Buyers added more than €570 million to the biggest exchange-traded fund tracking the shares last week.

US

US stocks were down due to worries about Greece’s precarious financial condition and slowing growth in

China

, while energy stocks fell on weaker oil prices.

Apple

was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, with its shares down 0.9 per cent. Smartphone shipments in China shrank for the first time in six years, according to market research firm IDC.

Rosetta Resources soared 27.45 per cent; Noble Energy fell 5.9 per cent.

– Additional reporting Bloomberg, Reuters