By James Langton
(October 25 – 09:00 EST) – Markets appear poised for a slight pullback this morning. inflation fears in Europe have sparked some selling there. The S&P futures are tilting down in pre-market trading.
The major European markets are trading in the red this morning .German import prices were reported up 1% in September. The European Central Bank’s chief economist issued a warning about inflation building in the Eurozone.
These inflation concerns are pushing some of the big telecoms and financials down in Europe. London’s FTSE 100 is off about 20 points, while the German DAX is down around 25 ticks. Paris’s CAC 40 is just about flat on the day.
It was also announced that a proposed European bank merger is off. Norway has scotched the US$3.1 billion bid for Christiania Bank ASA from Swedish-Finnish rival MeritaNordbanken Oyj. At the same time another new deal was announced. Sweden’s SEB AB plans to buy German retail bank, BfG AG, for US$1.7 billion.
Gold was down in Europe overnight, but it’s ticking up in Europe. It is currently being bid at US$301.60, after falling to the US$300 mark.
Overnight in Asia, markets were strong on the heels of Friday’s rally on Wall Street. There’s some optimism over new unit trusts coming to market. Both major markets closed up, although off earlier highs. The Nikkei closed up 210 points, 1.2% higher; while the Hang Seng finished ahead 171 points, more than 1.3% higher.
In other business news, Cominco Ltd. is announcing earnings for the quarter ended September 30, of 36¢ per share, up from a 13¢ per share loss in the third quarter of 1998.
Forester, Nexfor Inc., is reporting earnings of 38¢ per share for the third quarter 1999, double what it earned in the period a year ago. The firm has also announced the appointment of a new president and CEO. The nod has gone to Dominic Gammiero, who was formerly president of Nexfor subsidiary, Norbord Industries Inc.