European Markets Extend Gains

Shawshank, VA 10/6/2011 (PennyPayDay) – The European markets rose for the second day amid hopes that regulators would step in to stem the soverign debt crisis from worsening. Asian markets ended firmly in positive territory and the U.S. index futures are higher, ahead of the key jobs report from the U.S.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday in Brussels that the European Union should recapitalize the region's banks in the event of a crisis brought on by exposure to sovereign debt. Private lenders should receive backing "if there is a common view that banks aren't sufficiently capitalized for the current market condition," Merkel said in a joint press conference with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The Bank of England unexpectedly decided to raise the size of quantitative easing by GBP 75 billion amid the economy undergoing a fragile recovery. At the end of two-day meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee headed by Governor Mervyn King increased the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves to GBP 275 billion from GBP 200 billion. Policy makers also voted to hold the interest rate at 0.50 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is advancing 1.99 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 1.58 percent. The German DAX is advancing 1.99 percent and the French CAC 40 is gaining 2.49 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 is rising 2.19 percent and Switzerland's SMI is adding 1.56 percent.

Among the DAX components, Insurer Allianz is leading the gainers by adding 5.5 percent. MunichRe is rising 3.1 percent. ThyssenKrupp is climbing 5.4 percent and basf is adding 3.9 percent.

Truckmaker MAN and HeidelbergCement are up 3.8 percent each. Commerzbank is gaining 3.15 percent and Deutsche Bank is adding 2.7 percent. Nomura cut its price target on Commerzbank. Intesa Sanpaolo is climbing 6.9 percent in Frankfurt.

BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler are advancing between 2.7 percent and 1.1 percent. Metro is adding 3.3 percent, although Citigroup cut its price target on the stock.

Lufthansa is losing 0.4 percent. Credit Suisse cut the stock to "Neutral" from "Outperform." Gerresheimer is climbing 6.7 percent. The pharma and healthcare industry supplier reported a higher profit for the third quarter, and raised its full-year 2011 revenue outlook.

Kloeckner is adding 3.6 percent. Nomura cut its price target on the stock. In Paris, Lafarge is climbing 6.9 percent. ArcelorMittal is up 5.3 percent. Peugeot and Renault are advancing 6.2 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.

BNP Paribas is advancing 6.6 percent, Societe Generale is gaining 5.1 percent and Credit Agricole is rising 4.3 percent. Natixis is surging 12.2 percent.

EADS is adding 2.6 percent. Citigroup cut its price target on the stock. Air France-KLM is up 1.8 percent, although Citigroup cut its price target on the airline.

Eurofins Scientific is surging 10.1 percent after raising its sales and profits guidance for 2011. Atos is adding 7.2 percent on a report that the computer-services company confirmed its goals. In London, Anglo American is up 2.4 percent, BHP Billiton is adding 4 percent and Rio Tinto is gaining 5.3 percent. Antofagasta is surging 8 percent.

ENRC, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Xstrata are gaining between 4 percent and 8.7 percent. HSBC is up 3.7 percent, Barclays is adding 4 percent, Lloyds Banking is gaining 4.8 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland is rising 4.9 percent. Standard Chartered is adding 6.2 percent.

BP is losing 1.1 percent, while Royal Dutsch Shell is adding about 1 percent. Insurer Prudential is adding 6.1 percent and brewer SABMiller is gaining 8.4 percent.

Shares of recruitment group Hays is surging 7.8 percent, after the company reported a 21 percent growth in net fees for the first quarter, driven primarily by growth in its International businesses.

IMI is climbing 6.2 percent after confirming that present trading remains broadly unchanged since its August update. Ferrexpo is surging 10.8 percent after reporting strong production.

Mouchel Group is plunging 36.5 percent. The company said it was recently informed of an actuarial error that will have an impact on its profits for the fiscal year ended July 31. Also, the company's chief executive Richard Cuthbert tendered his resignation with immediate effect.

Franco-Belgian bank Dexia is plunging 11.2 percent in Brussels.

In economic news, German factory orders declined unexpectedly in August, the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology said. Factory orders declined 1.4 percent month-on-month, but slower than the 2.6 percent drop seen in July. Economists were expecting orders to remain flat on a monthly comparison.

The European Central Bank is due to release monetary policy statement shortly. Economists expect the central bank to hold the rate steady at 1.50 percent.

Across Asia/Pacific, markets closed firmly in positive territory. Australia's All Ordinaries added 3.50 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 5.67 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.66 percent. The Chinese market was closed.

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