Closing Market Report
Star-Bulletin news services
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Euro stocks end higher, Asian shares decline
Associated Press
LONDON » European shares closed higher yesterday with merger and acquisition activity giving them a boost, while most Asian stock markets declined.
U.S. markets were closed for the Martin Luther King Day holiday, keeping volumes on European markets on the low side.
Germany's DAX 30 added 0.58 percent to 5,514, the French CAC 40 index inched up 0.11 percent to 4,856 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index added 0.51 percent at 5,740.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 186.92 points, or 1.34 percent, to finish at 16,268.03 points. South Korean shares bucked the trend, climbing to a new record high on gains by major technology companies. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 5.51 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,421.79.
"As it often happens on market holidays in the U.S., the European market goes very quiet and trades in a range all day," said Tom Hougaard at London brokerage firm City Index.
Dutch media group VNU eased 1.2 percent after it said it received a tentative buyout offer from a consortium of private-equity groups that values the company at up to $8.87 billion.
The world's second-largest steelmaker, Arcelor SA, declined 2.9 percent after raising its hostile bid for Dofasco Inc. for a second time yesterday to about $4.7 billion, after rival ThyssenKrupp AG of Germany increased its own friendly offer. ThyssenKrupp shares fell 1.1 percent. Dofasco shares surged more than 9 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Old Mutual PLC, meanwhile, said that shareholders owning 68.8 percent of Forsakrings AB Skandia had accepted its hostile $5.9 billion bid to acquire Sweden's largest insurer, and extended the offer period to Jan. 23. Its shares rose 0.9 percent in London. Skandia rose 1 percent.
While investors in Korea were cheered by strong earnings reported by Samsung Electronics Co. and LG.Philips LCD Co. last week, investors in Japan unloaded technology and security shares to lock in profits from last week's gains.
Decliners included Kyocera Corp., a major maker of ceramic products for computer chips, which fell 0.21 percent to $82.46 and electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which lost 3.09 percent to $21.97.
"Technology stocks have been particularly hot over the past month and after the strong gains are, along with the market, due for a cool down," said Hajime Kitano, equity strategist at J.P. Morgan Securities in Tokyo.