UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

SABMiller bid raised; Commerzbank's net profit declines

European stocks closed with small gains Tuesday as analysts pinned the muted action on traders waiting for news from central banks due later in the week.

Investors waded through a slew of corporate updates, including a higher takeover bid for brewer SABMiller PLC and the potential breakdown of a deal involving Italy's Mediaset SpA that drove its shares down by double digits.

The Stoxx Europe 600 inched up 0.1% to finish at 341.26, after ending 0.2% higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-climb-for-first-day-in-three-as-ryanair-ericsson-advance-2016-07-25) on Monday.

"Markets have settled into what looks to be a consolidation move in front of crucial meetings from the Fed and the [Bank of Japan]," said Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec Markets, in a note.

"However, the strengthening of the yen suggests that the market is somewhat skeptical that the stimulus package out of Japan will be able to meet expectations," he added.

The Fed's latest policy decision is due Wednesday after the close of European trading, and the Bank of Japan's statement is slated for release on Friday. A jump in the yen helped leave Japanese shares down 1.4% Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-falls-after-disappointing-report-on-stimulus-plan-2016-07-25), as traders in Tokyo worried Japan's latest stimulus efforts could disappoint. A stronger yen can make shares of Japanese company

Movers: BP PLC shares (BP.LN) (BP.LN) closed down 1.3% as the oil major posted quarterly underlying earnings of $720 million (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bp-posts-replacement-cost-of-225-billion-2016-07-26), falling short of analysts' consensus of $839 million. BP also said its second-quarter replacement cost loss -- analogous to the net income that U.S. oil companies report -- was $2.25 billion as it booked a multibillion-dollar charge relating to its 2010 Gulf of Mexico rig blowout and oil spill.

SABMiller shares (SAB.JO) finished 0.7% lower, after relinquishing earlier gains. The brewer received an increased takeover bid from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-inbev-increases-offer-for-sabmiller-2016-07-26-3485537)(ABI.BT) (ABI.BT), to GBP45 a share ($58.85) from GBP44 a share. Shares of Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch closed up 0.8%.

The new offer, which values SABMiller at about GBP79 billion ($104 billion), comes as the British pound has slid in the wake of last month's vote that is expected to lead the U.K. out of the European Union.

Among financial stocks, Commerzbank AG shares (CBK.XE) fell 4.5%. The German lender said late Monday net profit fell by about a third (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/commerzbank-core-tier-1-ratio-drops-to-115-2016-07-26) to EUR209 million and that its capital ratio declined as it deals with increased pension liabilities and regulatory changes.

Commerzbank's current net profit is line with what analysts expected. Commerzbank plans to release a full set of figures on Aug. 2.

Mediaset shares (MS.MI) tumbled 6.9% after the Italian broadcaster said it was informed "out of the blue" by France's Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) that it's no longer interested in acquiring 100% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mediaset-says-vivendi-aiming-to-revise-pay-tv-deal-2016-07-26) of the Mediaset Premium pay-TV unit and that Vivendi wants to change terms of its proposal. Vivendi shares closed up 0.1%.

Gainers included BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) (BT.A.LN) , with shares climbing 3.2%. U.K.'s telecommunications regulator Ofcom called for BT's Openreach network business to have its own structure, but stopped short of calling for a full separation of the businesses (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bt-arm-should-have-separate-structure-regulator-2016-07-26).

Indexes: The U.K's FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to end at 6,724.03, while Germany's DAX 30 gained 0.5% to 10,247.76. France's CAC 40 tacked on 0.2% to finish at 4,394.77.

The euro was buying $1.0985, down slightly from $1.0996 late Monday in New York.

For more on the impact of Brexit, see Financial News: Brexit (https://brexit.efinancialnews.com/?gi=8c93e4d772d9), which covers the fallout from the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2016 12:06 ET (16:06 GMT)

FTSE 100
Index Chart
Von Apr 2024 bis Mai 2024

FTSE 100
Index Chart
Von Mai 2023 bis Mai 2024