Euroshares open down on Wall St losses, Sanofi-Aventis gains as BMS talks end |
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Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:00
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LONDON (AFX) - Leading European exchanges opened lower after losses on Wall Street on Friday, but Sanofi gained after it reportedly decided against bidding for Bristol-Myers Squibb, dealers said.At 08.30, the STOXX 50 was down 14.3 points at 3,807.16 and the STOXX 600 was down 1.55 points at 378.69.On Friday, the DJIA fell 56.80 to 12,580.83 and the Nasdaq finished off 28.85 at 2,459.82, hit by a spike in oil prices and comments from two Federal Reserve officials that unexpected economic growth could prompt an interest rate hike.Over in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was closed for a public holiday, while the Hang Seng was down 54.29 at 20,623.37 by midday.Still in Asia, oil prices continued to hover around the 60 usd mark amid concern over the cold snap engulfing the US.Earlier this morning, the New York Mercantile Exchange's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, was down 0.72 usd at 59.17 usd a barrel.Shares in Sanofi-Aventis moved 1.19 pct higher in opening deals ahead of the healthcare group's full year results tomorrow as investors expressed relief the group has walked away from rumoured plans to buy Bristol-Myers Squibb.'Reports on Saturday that talks between Sanofi and BMS talks have fallen through should help the share price today,' said one London based dealer.He also said that tomorrow's earning update is supporting the shares today as the group will be able to highlight its pipeline to the market.Another dealer agreed, saying the end of the talks suggests the French group is confident it is strong enough to continue on its own.Telecom Italia climbed 1.97 pct after Pirelli confirmed media reports that it is in talks with Telefonica and other financial and industrial subjects regarding the sale of a minority stake in Telecom Italia's controlling shareholder Olimpia SpA.Olimpia controls the telecoms group with an 18 pct interest.deborah.hyde@afxnews.comdlh/lamCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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