LONDON: European equities rebounded, led by airlines and auto stocks after positive updates by German’s Continental Associated Group and Lufthansa Airline Company.
German airline Lufthansa rose 2.5 per cent in brisk volume after saying it expects the lower price of oil to cut its fuel bill for 2015 by 13 per cent after the cost of hedging, setting it on course for a rise in profit this year.
Brent crude dropped below $49 a barrel on Monday, around its lowest since April 2009, hit by a global supply glut. Lufthansa assumes a price of $68 for Brent in 2015.
German automotive supplier Continental rose 2.3 per cent after saying it expects sales growth to quicken to around 5 per cent this year and to maintain a double digit operating profit margin as global passenger car production rises moderately.
FTS Euro first 300 indexes were up 1 per cent to 1,361.64 points, recouping most of its 1.1 per cent drop last week. Investors are on tenterhooks ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting and a parliamentary election.
Banco Santander rose 2.3 per cent as El Mundo reported funds owned by US financier George Soros have acquired 500 million euros of Santander after the bank’s share issue last week. Santander’s shares had fallen 14 per cent.
Roche, Swiss healthcare group rose 2 per cent after it acquired a majority stake in the molecular and genomic analysis company Foundation Medicine Incorporation for as much as $1.18 billion
