European stocks little changed as Telecom Italia gains
Wednesday, 27 August 2014
LONDON: European stocks were little changed, following their biggest two-day advance since April, as signs of progress in talks between Russia and Ukraine offset worse-than-projected German confidence data, according to a news agency.
Telecom Italia SpA gained 3.2 per cent after Brazil’s Oi SA said it may buy an $8 billion stake in Tim Participacoes SA, a group company of Telecom Italia. Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, which is merging with Oi, jumped 6.3 per cent. Asos Plc rallied the most in a decade amid takeover speculation. Marine Harvest ASA (MHG) dropped 2.7 per cent after posting an unexpected quarterly loss. United Utilities Group Plc fell 1.3 per cent after analysts downgraded the U.K.’s largest publicly traded water company.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.1 per cent to 343.33 at close of trading, reaching a one-month high. The gauge climbed 1.8 per cent in the past two days after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled policy makers are ready to add stimulus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he held positive talks with Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko over tensions between the two countries. More than 2,000 people have died amid fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. Poroshenko said that Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are backing a Ukrainian peace strategy.
In Germany, a consumer confidence index will fall to 8.6 in September from a revised 8.9 in August, GfK AG forecast in a report. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had called for a reading of 8.9.
Telecom Italia climbed 3.2 per cent to 86.25 euro cents. Oi said it asked Banco BTG Pactual SA to review options enabling it to buy a stake in Tim, Brazil’s second-largest mobile carrier. A group company of Telecom Italia owns 67 per cent of Tim, which has a market value of more than $12 billion.
National benchmark indexes advanced in 14 of the 18 western European markets. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1 per cent and France’s CAC 40 added less than 0.1 per cent. Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 per cent.