German shares were the top performers Monday morning, lifted by a positive outlook for retail giant Metro and promises by Deutsche Bank to overhaul its investment banking unit. Chinese GDP data made for a slight hiccup.
Germany’s blue-chip DAX index was up 0.7 percent by mid-morning at 10,174 points, beating pan-European shares listed on the FTSEurofirst 300 index, which rose 0.13 percent to 1,610 points.
Shares in the German retail and wholesale group Metro enjoyed a 3.5 rise to 27.8 euros after the company said it had been able to grow its operating profit, or Ebit, by 1.5 percent in the last fiscal year after adjusting for unfavorable currency fluctuations, particularly in Russia.
Without those adjustments, the concern’s full-year profits dropped 1.2 percent to 59.2 billion euros ($67.2 billion). But Metro did say it was optimistic about the Christmas shopping season as consumer spending in Germany picks up.
Bank, ATM shares rise
German investors were also encouraged by Deutsche Bank, the country’s biggest lender, announcing over the weekend that it would be splitting its investment bank into two separate units to streamline business in the face of massive legal fees and shrinking profits.
Stock in Deutsche was up 3.5 percent to 26.8 euros per share. Earlier this month, the lender said it expected a net loss in the third quarter of this year of 6.2 billion euros, mostly due to high litigation costs after a string of high-profile scandals.
Shares in the German ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf also surged 21.7 percent at one point after a company in the United States agreed to buy it for 1.7 billion euros before settling back down to a 15.6 rise to 45 euros per share.
Soft China GDP figures only accounted for an ephemeral dip in shares. Investors are concered about the world’s second-largest economy slowing but the GDP data came in slightly better than expected.
cjc/uhe (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
