Lifted by the end to the IG Metall union pay dispute, Frankfurt regained half of Wednesday's losses with the Xetra DAX index improving 50.67 at 4,871.09. Man jumped €13.80 to €243.20 as the threat of industrial action melted away. Siemens, up €1.80 at €61.45, added to the improved sentiment by announcing it would be maintaining earnings targets this year in spite of a higher wage bill as a result of the IG Metall pay deal.
DaimlerChrysler gained €1.69 at €85.85 amid persistent talk of broker upgrades in the wake of a strong start to 1999 for US car sales.
Paris closed 1.35 per cent higher, with the CAC-40 up 53.92 to 4,039.41 as investors focused on individual stocks in the absence of a lead from other markets. Hypermarket group Carrefour stole the show, closing €65, or 11.7 per cent higher, to €619 after posting a higher-than-expected rise in 1998 profits. RhonePoulenc recovered 59 cents to €41.70 after Hoechst said it had reached an agreement with one of its main shareholders that would allow its planned merger with the French chemical group to go ahead. Kuwait, which owns 24.5 per cent of Hoechst, was said to be reconsidering its opposition to the deal after a meeting with Hoechst executives.
LVMH was €11.80, or 5.6 per cent off, to €200.70 after Gucci, the Italian fashion house LVMH is bidding for, countered the offer by popping a poison pill. Gucci said it had granted an employee trust an option to buy 37 million new shares. The trust was reported to have immediately built up a stake equivalent to LVMH's. LVMH's holding in Gucci could fall from 34 per cent to 21 per cent as a result.
Amsterdam moved lower in spite of a busy day for insurance giant Aegon, which gained almost 10 per cent at one stage on news of a $9.7 billion (£8.65 billion) US takeover. The AEX index ended 1.96 lower at 512.19. Aegon rose to a high of €92.90 on the announcement of the TransAmerica deal, but met with some profit-taking later. The stock ended up €4.70, or 5.6 per cent, at €89.30 in heavy volume of 10.4 million shares.
Milan was enlivened by action in Banca di Roma, which soared 8.5 per cent as it sought to catch up with its possible merger partner Banca Commerciale Italiana's 6 per cent rally on Wednesday. Banca di Roma closed 11 cents higher at €1.40, while BCI slipped 5 cents to €5.90.
The broader market overcame early weakness and the real-time Mibtel index closed 121 higher at 23,103.
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