Friday 23 December, 5:00 PM GMT (Thomson Financial): European markets
ended the day mixed in quiet trade ahead of the festive holiday break.
Newsflow was light, but of note, Steel group Arcelor lifted its bid for
Dofasco, trumping a bid by ThyssenKrupp that has already been agreed by
Dofasco. Elsewhere, shares in ASM International jumped after the company said
it would review its operations as a result of shareholder pressure.
London's FTSE-100 Index, which closed early, was barely lower, by 1.60
points or 0.03% to 5595.40, while Paris's CAC-40 Index was up by 5.78 points
or 0.12% to 4757.74. Frankfurt's DAX Index rose by 20.77 points or 0.38% to
5419.05 but Milan's S&P MIB Index fell by 96 points or 0.27% to 35,740. The
pan-European blue chip Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index was barely changed, losing
only 0.54 points or 0.02% to 3351.06.
* Steel group Arcelor increased its offer for Canadian group Dofasco to 63
Canadian dollars per share, valuing the group at 4.88 billion dollars.
Arcelor's new offer for the company trumped a recommended 61.5 dollars
per share bid by ThyssenKrupp, which said it took note of Arcelor's
offer and would decide how to proceed.
* AstraZeneca agreed to pay US$210 million for KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, a
privately owned healthcare firm that focuses on oncology. KuDOS's
KU59436 compound is currently undergoing phase I clinical development.
* Shares in ASM International - -- which
designs and manufactures equipment
and materials used to produce semiconductor devices --
- jumped after the
company said it would review its policy of combining its wafer
processing operations and its assembly and packaging activities at a
shareholder meeting to be held next May. The company's decision came
after pressure from some shareholders.
Olivier.Masson@Thomson.com; Thomson Financial
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Europe Market Commentary. The
information herein is believed to be true and accurate. If you have any
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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