Investors Cheer U.S. Advance
March 30, 2011
The CAC-40 index of actively traded stocks advanced 12.15 to 2007.26. Traders said the market bounced back early in the day as investors moved back into blue-chip stocks. Investors showed little reaction to the Bank of France's decision to leave key interest rates steady, but traders said they expect a further reduction to the intervention rate later in the summer. The intervention rate now stands at 3.55%. Insurer Union des Assurances de Paris climbed 4.8 francs to 106 amid continued rumors that the company may be the target of a takeover. Rival Axa slid 5.9 francs to 266 as investors sold shares of the insurer to move their money into Union des Assurances. French-Italian semiconductor manufacturer SGS-Thomson Microelectronics extended its gains, rising 4.8 francs to 168.9 in the wake of a strong second-quarter earnings statement released earlier this week. Food group Danone moved ahead 7 francs to 768. The company said after the market closed that first half sales rose 4.1% to 41.59 billion francs from 39.96 billion francs a year ago.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
