European shares near six-week highs
Monday, 20 July 2015
European shares edged higher on Monday, closing in on fresh six week highs, with Greece fears receding further as the country's banks re-opened and with Dutch chemical firm OCI surging on merger talks. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.2 per cent, close to its highest level since May. Pre-market trading was marred by technical issues on Eurex, which prevented the trading of futures and options on the exchange. Shares in euro zone banks rose 0.5 per cent, the top STOXX Europe sectoral gainer. Amsterdam-listed chemical company OCI NV rose 10 per cent, the top gainer on the STOXX Europe 600, after confirming it is in advanced merger talks with US fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc, according to Reuters.