Markets: optimism on Greek debt boosts bourses

European shares reversed early losses and closed up yesterday, with persistent concerns about Greece’s debt situation offset by optimism that a reshuffled Greek negotiating team would brighten the outlook.

US stocks reversed course to move lower in early afternoon trading as healthcare stocks led by Amgen dragged on the three major indexes.

DUBLIN Bank of Ireland was the standout stock on the Dublin market yesterday, according to one analyst, who said the stock probably underperformed last week. The bank's shares soared 6.6 per cent to finish at 36 cent.

Permanent TSB shares jumped 7.8 per cent to close at €4.90. The bank yesterday raised €400 million through the sale of 88.9 million ordinary shares with private investors.

Aer Lingus also performed well, albeit on light volumes, climbing 1 per cent to €2.40. There was some speculation over the weekend that IAG'S bid for Aer Lingus could be approved by the Cabinet as early as this week. Ryanair, on the other hand, fell 0.3 per cent to close at €11.14.

IFG and Irish Continental both declined, falling 3.1 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively. IFG ended the day at €1.88 while Irish Continental closed at €4.05.

The ISEQ ended the day 58 points or 0.9 per cent higher at 6,357.

LONDON Britain's top equity index rose to a record high, led by HSBC, despite increasingly volatile moves ahead of next week's election.

HSBC was up 3.1 per cent after the Sunday Times reported that it was weighing plans to spin off its British retail bank in a £20 billion deal. HSBC declined to comment on the report.

The bank had already said it was reviewing whether to keep its headquarters in London, given increased regulation and the possibility of a poll on Britain’s membership of the EU – an important issue in the election.

Standard Chartered, which has also come under pressure to redomicile to Asia, increased 4.3 per cent.

Sports Direct International rose 2 per cent as RBC Capital Markets raised its rating on the stock.

The FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.5 per cent to 7,103.98 at the close, reversing earlier losses of 0.6 per cent.

EUROPE A Greek rally sent European shares higher as the nation reshuffled its bailout-negotiating team.

Volkswagen pushed carmakers to the best performance among Stoxx 600 groups, up 5.3 per cent after its chairman resigned from all his posts.

Mediaset climbed 8.2 per cent as a report said Vivendi was studying a purchase of the Italian broadcaster and a controlling stake in French film producer EuropaCorp, which soared 20 per cent.

Deutsche Bank tumbled 4.6 per cent after scrapping a profitability goal for next year and setting a lower medium term goal.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1 per cent to 412.42 at the close of trading.

Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 were also up strongly following the reshuffle by Greece, which raised hopes the deadlock between Greece and its creditors could be broken. The Dax shook off losses to surge 1.9 per cent to 12,039.16. The Cac 40 rose 1.3 per cent to 5,268.91.

NEW YORK US stocks fell as declines in biotech companies overshadowed a rally in commodities stocks ahead of Apple's results after market close.

Healthcare stocks led by Amgen dragged on the three major indexes.

The S&P Healthcare index was down 1.32 per cent in early trade, with Amgen’s 3 per cent drop to $163.02 the biggest drag on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

The Nasdaq Biotech index was down 3.5 per cent as Celladon plunged about 81 per cent to a record low of $2.62.

Mylan fell 4.8 per cent in early trading, after rejecting Teva's $40 billion takeover bid. – (Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters)