European Market Updates
11/30/2009 1:38 AM ET
(RTTNews) -
European stocks may open on a flat to positive note Monday, tracking a strong rebound across Asia amid receding fears over the impact of the Dubai debt crisis. However, cautious undertone may prevail, as investors are still uncertain over the contagion effect of the debt crisis.
With investors getting back into the buying mode, the major markets across the Asia-Pacific region rose by 2-3 percent on Monday, led by financials. Crude oil is now trading moderately higher at $76.27 a barrel, helped by a weaker dollar.
On Friday, U.S stocks closed lower, but were well off their worst levels of the short trading day. The Dow futures are currently up 30 points, pointing towards a positive opening on Wall Street Monday morning.
In a pre-emptive move, the United Arab Emirates' central bank on Sunday offered local and international banks with debt exposure in Dubai to avail an additional liquidity facility. Further, the central bank stressed that it "stands behind" the country's domestic as well as foreign banks as they face losses from Dubai World's possible default.
In domestic economic news, house prices in the United Kingdom were up 0.2 percent month-over-month in November, property Web site Hometrack said on Monday, matching October's gain and rising for the fourth straight month overall. On an annual basis, home prices declined 2.9 percent after the 4.2 percent contraction in the previous month.
However, an index measuring consumer confidence in the United Kingdom was down for the first time in a year in November, the GfK/NOP survey revealed on Monday. The index came in with a score of -17, well below expectations for a -11 following the -13 in October.
In corporate news, GlaxoSmithKline Plc is to slash the prices of its medicine in emerging economies next spring, the Financial Times reported, citing Abbas Hussain, head of emerging markets at the U.K company.
Deutsche Boerse AG declined to amend its offer for acquiring a controlling stake in the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Royal Bank of Scotland has pledged to help small and medium sized enterprises by capping arrangement fees for loans and overdrafts at 1.5 percent for at least a year.
U.K. publisher Informa Plc, which plans to acquire German rival Springer Science and Business Media, has come under sharp criticism from shareholders, the Financial times reported.
The European markets rose on Friday, as banking stocks rebounded after worries about debt problem at the Dubai World eased.
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