By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Germany's DAX slips from record high
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Europe's benchmark stock index climbed
for a second straight day on Thursday, with solid gains for
resource companies on the back of higher commodity prices.
Investors were also encouraged by the European Central Bank's
bond buying, now in its fourth day after launching on Monday. The
central bank will buy 60 billion euros ($63.74 billion) a month and
has over the first three days it's bought EUR9.8 billion, executive
board member Benoît Curé said on Thursday, according to Dow Jones
Newswires.
Indexes: The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.2% to 396.41, after
posting its biggest one-day jump since January on Wednesday.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index picked up 0.7% to 6,765.72, boosted by
the index's miners and oil firms.
France's CAC 40 index fell 0.2% to 4,990.43, while Germany's DAX
30 index lost 0.1% to 11,789.45, easing back from a record closing
high logged on Wednesday.
Resource relief: Crude-oil prices rose
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) for the first
time in three days, providing a lift to Europe's energy-related
companies firms. Shares of SeaDrill Ltd. added 2.6% in Oslo, Ophir
Energy PLC gained 3.4%, while Tullow Oil PLC picked up 1.8% and BP
PLC (BP) rose 1.2%.
Metals prices rose across the board
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-rebounds-but-remains-near-november-lows-2015-03-12)and
buoyed mining firms in Europe, mainly on the FTSE, that is
heavily-weighted toward the resource sector. Shares of Fresnillo
PLC climbed 3%, Antofagasta PLC added 3.2% and BHP Billiton PLC
(BHP) gained 2.2%.
Other movers: Deutsche Lufthansa AG (DLAKY) put on 1.1% after
the airline said its operating results should get a boost this year
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lufthansa-sees-boost-from-low-fuel-costs-2015-03-12-44851520)
from lower fuel costs.
Fashion retailer Hugo Boss PLC lost 3.6% after a disappointing
earnings report.
Serco PLC slumped 13% after the outsourcing firm said it will
issue more shares to pay down debt. It also cut its dividend for
2014 to 3.10 pence (46 cents) per share from 10.55 pence in
2013.
Data: German inflation for February was confirmed at 0.1%
year-over-year, in line with expectations.
In France, data showed consumer prices in February fell 0.3%
compared with a year earlier
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/french-consumer-prices-rise-in-february-2015-03-12-44853343),
a tad better than forecasts.
At 10 a.m. London time, or 6 a.m. Eastern Time, January
industrial production data for the eurozone are due, forecast to
show a monthly increase of 0.3%, according to FactSet
estimates.
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