European markets traded quietly yesterday with the FTSE Eurotop 300 index closing with a net fall on the week of 2 per cent after Wall Street, in early trading, brushed aside its second dose of grim economic news in two days.
Anglo-Dutch consumer products group Unilever put on 3.5 per cent to €59.75 as it took the market by surprise with a 6 per cent boost to third-quarter earnings, keeping it on track to meet its double-figure growth target for the year. The world's largest consumer goods group beat analysts' flat expectations after reporting strong trading in September.
Julian Hardwick, at ABN Amro, said that while the figures were not as weak as expected, he did not see the numbers changing the overall story.
Heavy engineer ABB pushed higher after Goldman Sachs cut its earnings forecasts for the group but drew attention to its recovery potential. Last week Lehman Brothers, attracted by the shares' decline from a January high of SFr44.50, added ABB to its list of top European picks. Goldman, which is maintaining its "market performer" rating, feels ABB could stage a comeback but "has a lot to do". The shares, which were bumping along at SFr9 a month ago, rose 3.5 per cent to SFr14.70.
Motor stocks, boosted and buffeted in turn this week by bleak figures from Fiat and top-of-the-range results from Volkswagen, found little comfort in the latest sales trends from France. Peugeot shed 0.8 per cent at €44.86 in spite of a sharp rise in October sales. Renault lost 2.3 per cent at €33.99. DaimlerChrysler fell 1.2 per cent to €39.12.
Thyssen Krupp had a nervous session as investors peered ahead to this month's full-year figures. The stock came under pressure from a German media report that group losses for 2000-2001 would be far heavier than consensus predictions. The shares fell 2.4 per cent to €11.94.
