German investor confidence on the rise

European stocks rose for a second day as a report showed German investor confidence advanced for the first time this year. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.6 per cent to 339.3 at the close of trading in London.

National benchmark indexes rose in all 18 western European markets. The UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.6 percent, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.9 percent, and Germany’s DAX rallied 1.6 per cent. Greece’s ASE gained the most, up 3.9 per cent, as Eurobank Ergasias SA jumped 7.6 percent.

In Dublin, the Iseq Overall Index rose by 0.6 per cent to 4,809.19 on what was described as a "decent day" of activity. Dublin Bookmaker Paddy Power and packaging group Smurfit Kappa were the main mover on the day, both up more than 3 per cent. Paddy Power closed up 3.1 per cent at €62.35 after it raised its earnings guidance for this year by 3 to 4 per cent.

Smurfit Kappa rose by 3.2 per cent to €17.15 as speculation mounted that it might move its listing to London.

AIB was down 4.5 per cent at 0.085 cent, continuing the decline this week following comments by the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan yesterday that the stock was overvalued. About 13 million AIB shares traded on the day, out of a total of 523 billion.

Aer Lingus shares finished up just under 1 per cent on the day it issued a circular to shareholders detailing its proposal to resolve the long-running dispute over the deficit in the IASS pension scheme. London Miners and oil companies helped push UK stocks higher for a fourth day, while a report showed inflation unexpectedly accelerated.

Randgold Resources rose 2.5 percent as Tullow Oil climbed 3.6 percent. Balfour Beatty jumped 5.5 per cent after reporting an increase in its construction-services order book in the third quarter.

EasyJet fell 1.2 per cent after reporting full-year revenue that missed analyst estimates.

The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.6 per cent to 6,709.13 at the close of trading in London. The broader FTSE All-Share Index added 0.5 per cent, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index gained 0.6 percent. The rate of UK consumer-price growth climbed to 1.3 per cent last month from 1.2 per cent in September. Europe European stocks rose helped by an improvement in German economic sentiment and speculation about fresh monetary stimulus in the euro zone.

Frankfurt’s DAX index rose 1.6 per cent after the ZEW survey showed German analyst and investor sentiment rose in November for the first time in almost a year, beating expectations and raising hopes of growth after Europe’s biggest economy narrowly avoided recession.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 0.6 per cent higher at 1,360.22 points, with the euro zone-only Euro STOXX 50 up 1.2 per cent at 3,120.42 points.

Autos were the best-performing sector as data showed European new car sales rose 6.2 percent in October from year-ago levels. Volkswagen shares rose 2.1 percent.

Shares in European cable and telecoms company Altice bucked the trend, falling 3.4 per cent after private equity firms Carlyle and Cinven sold 7.5 million shares.

New York US stocks rose in early trading, lifting the S&P 500 to a record high, after Actavis’s acquisition of Allergan triggered bullish analyst notes.

Allergan accepted a $66 billion takeover bid from Actavis Plc in cash and stock. Actavis shares rose 6.6 percent to $264.38 as the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500.

Solar company SunEdison rose 24.4 per cent to $20.67 as it announced that it would buy First Wind to enter the US wind power market. TerraForm shares jumped 34 percent to $34.63.

Chinese solar company JA Solar Holdings reported its fourth straight quarterly profit, sending its shares to $8.21, up 5.3 percent.