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Europe rises on U.S. troop advance
LONDON, England (CNN) -- European stock markets surged higher on Wednesday after news that U.S. forces were pushing towards Baghdad and Wall Street got off to another strong start. London's FTSE 100 rose 1.9 percent to 3,753.4 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris climbed 4.1 percent to 2,743.88, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was up 4.9 percent at 2,570.78 in late trading (the German market was set to close at 1900 GMT). The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was up 3.2 percent in late trading. "Long-term investors have been gradually moving out of cash and into equities on hopes that a quick end to the war will pave the way for a pick-up in confidence and capital investment by companies," Roger Hornett, chief executive and global strategist at Gilissen Securities, told Reuters.(War latest) But Clive McDonnell, a European strategist at Standard & Poor's, added: The market remains fickle at the moment. Our advice is to keep the TV on, which gives a fair indication of what will go in the market." Troubled UK telecom company Cable & Wireless jumped 12 percent to 76.77 pence after it named Francesco Caio as its news chief executive. The company's stock has fallen more 90 percent since early 2000 as the telecom market for Internet data storage services collapsed. (Full story) German insurers rose sharply after two on the country's biggest groups cut their share holdings in each other. In late Frankfurt trading, Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer, was up 10.6 percent to 62.30 euros and insurer Allianz was up 5.2 percent to 50.49 euros. Porsche, the world's most profitable luxury sports car maker, and luxury carmaker BMW rallied after they said new models helped them sell more cars in the United States last month. Porsche was up 7.7 percent to 277.51 euros and BMW was up 5.9 percent to 27.55 euros in late Frankfurt trading. The AEX index in Amsterdam rose 5 percent and Milan's MIB30 index advanced 3.2 percent, while the SMI in Zurich climbed 3.3 percent. In the U.S. on Wednesday, Wall Street rallied in early trading on the belief that the end of the war in Iraq is drawing nearer as U.S. troops got closer to Baghdad. At about 1500 GMT, Dow Jones industrial average up 177.22 points to 8247.08 and the Nasdaq composite gained 40.34 points to 1388.64, while the S&P 500 index rose 18.66 points to 877.14. (Full report) A quick resolution to the war would allow Wall Street to shift its focus back to other factors, such as the U.S. economy and corporate profit growth, neither of which is in great shape, but both of which could benefit from peace in the world.
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