EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Erase Monthly Loss As Oil Firms, Deutsche Bank Rally
September 28 2016 - 4:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Embattled German bank strikes deal to sell insurance unit
Europe's stock benchmark turned positive for the month on
Wednesday, as a rally for embattled Deutsche Bank AG sparked gains
for banks and oil companies rose ahead of a closely watched OPEC
meeting in Algeria.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index jumped 1.1% to 343.87, setting it on
track for a 0.1% monthly gain.
"European equity markets are positive, following oil prices
higher, as investors eye Algiers in the hope that today's OPEC
meeting will reach some compromise," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of
investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, in a note.
"Although an agreement to curb output today would be a major
surprise, the debate may pave the way for a potential deal at their
next meeting," she added.
West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.5% at $44.88 a barrel,
while Brent added 0.5% to $46.75 a barrel. Market players are
shifting their focus to November
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-higher-but-market-faces-long-wait-for-next-opec-move-on-output-2016-09-28)
as the time when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries could decide on a more definitive plan to curtail output
that has suppressed prices for two years.
The gains helped fuel optimism over Europe's commodity
companies, with shares of Total SA (TOT) (TOT) up 1.1%, BP PLC
(BP.LN) (BP.LN) rising 1.1% and Repsol SA (REPYY) 1.3% higher.
Deutsche Bank boost: Shares of Deutsche Bank (DBK.XE) (DBK.XE)
gained 3.3% after the struggling lender reached a deal to sell its
Abbey Life insurance business to Phoenix Group for EUR1.09 billion
($1.23 billion).
The bank -- Germany's biggest -- earlier this week dropped to an
all-time closing low on reports the government was ruling out any
potential state aid for it.
Deutsche's rebound on Wednesday fueled gains for the entire
sector, with shares of Banco Santander SA (SAN)(SAN) up 1.4%, BNP
Paribas SA (BNP.FR) rising 1.3% and Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE) 1.4%
higher.
Other movers: Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC
(RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) rose 0.9% after the bank agreed to pay $1.1
billion
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rbs-pays-11-billion-to-settle-lawsuits-in-us-2016-09-28-34851318)
to a U.S. regulator to settle two lawsuits related to
mortgage-backed securities. The charge was within the amount RBS
set aside in provisions.
Also in London, Tui AG shares gained 2.8% after the travel
operator said it was confident of delivering between 12% and 13%
growth in underlying earnings
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tui-says-on-track-for-12-13-fy-earnings-growth-2016-09-28)
for the year that ends Sept. 30.
Deutsche Post AG (DPW.XE) added 1.1% after the courier company
said it is buying UK Mail Group for GBP242.7 million
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deutsche-post-strikes-deal-to-buy-uk-mail-2016-09-28)
($315.5 million).
Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ABI.BT) (ABI.BT) were halted
for trade ahead of a shareholder meeting to approve its $100
billion-plus megamerger with rival SABMiller (SAB.JO) . SABMiller
shares were up 0.2%.
Indexes: The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.9% to 6,866.89, with
the oil majors helping the benchmark higher.
Germany's DAX 30 index advanced 1.2% to 10,487.88, while
France's CAC 40 index gained 1.1% to 4,448.80.
Economic news: European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in a
welcome address at the First ECB Annual Research Conference in
Frankfurt reiterated the need for structural reforms to boost
economic growth.
The central bank boss also said the euro area needs "more robust
policy prescriptions" to promote growth.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 28, 2016 05:14 ET (09:14 GMT)
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