Europe stocks advance while British equities get left behind as sterling climbs

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European stocks mostly rose on Thursday, with the exception of U.K. equities as multinationals suffered from the continued run-up in the British pound.

The Stoxx Europe 600












SXXP, +0.31%










 increased 0.29% to 404.37.

The German DAX












DAX, +0.03%










 and French CAC 40












PX1, +0.49%










 also rose. U.S. stock futures












ES00, +0.22%










 also gained ground.

However, the U.K. FTSE 100












UKX, -0.08%










 declined 0.09% to 7182.28. The rise in the British pound












GBPUSD, +0.1755%,










on the expectation that the Conservatives will secure a majority in Parliament after the December 12 general election, is weighing on U.K.-based multinationals such as AstraZeneca












AZN, -0.21%










  that earn most of their revenue outside the country. AstraZeneca’s U.K.-listed shares fell 0.5%.

Of stocks in the spotlight, shares in Italian jacket maker Moncler












MONC, +9.63%










 surged after Bloomberg reported Kering, the French luxury brands owner, has held exploratory talks on buying it. Kering












KER, +1.26%










 shares rose 1.7%. Neither company commented.

An analyst at ING said a buyout price could be 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion). Analysts at Morgan Stanley, who say Moncler could fetch 12.25 billion euros, said the Italian group would be a “plug-and-play” acquisition for Kering and a way for the French company to reduce its dependence on the Gucci brand.

M&G shares












MNG, -3.74%










 dropped for a second day, losing 3%, after the fund manager on Wednesday suspended redemptions from its flagship property fund.

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