By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Holcim-Lafarge tie-up nears collapse
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks climbed Monday, with a
new milestone for German stocks highlighting the flood of money
that's been rushing into the market as the European Central Bank
embarked on its massive asset-purchase program.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7% to 399.21, with only the
utilities sector lagging other groups. Stocks found early support
in part after the Chinese government over the week pledged to
bolster economic growth
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-signals-fresh-moves-for-economy-2015-03-15-124854757).
Top advancers on the pan-European index included Balfour Beatty
PLC , with shares of the U.K. construction and engineering services
company rising 3.3% following a ratings upgrade to buy from
underperform at Jefferies.
But near the bottom of the Stoxx 600 was cement maker Lafarge SA
. Its shares dropped 4.5% after Holcim Ltd's board rejected terms
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/holcim-board-rejects-terms-of-proposed-4427-billion-larfarge-merger-2015-03-16)of
a proposed EUR42 billion ($44.27 billion) merger with Lafarge.
Holcim shares were off 1.1%.
Contributing to the gain on the Stoxx 600 were German shares,
with the benchmark DAX 30 jumping 1% to 12,023.37, the first time
the index has risen above 12,000. Commerzbank AG climbed 2% and
Siemens AG tacked on 1.6% after the company over the weekend won a
power-plant deal from the Egyptian government.
France's CAC 40 leapt 0.8% to 5,051.56. On Friday, it notched
its first close above 5,000 since May 2008.
The Stoxx 600 itself was moving toward closing above the 400
mark for the first time since June 2007. It's also closing in on
its record high of 405.50 that it reached in March 2000, according
to FactSet data. Why investors love Europe and don't think it's a
crowded trade
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-investors-love-europe-and-dont-think-its-a-crowded-trade-2015-03-13).
Last week, for the eighth week running, European equity funds
attracted the biggest inflows among the major global developed
markets "as the European Central Bank's quantitative-easing program
kicked off," said data tracker EPFR in a note Friday. Flows into
Europe equity funds surpassed $5 billion for the fourth time in the
past seven weeks, and European bond funds logged their biggest
inflow since the middle of the second quarter in 2013, said
EPFR.
The ECB last week started buying EUR60 billion a month in
eurozone government bonds and other debt assets as part of its
effort to spur inflation and encourage economic growth.
Analysts have said a slide in the euro (EURUSD) has aided shares
of exporters as their goods are becoming less expensive for their
overseas clients.
Elsewhere on Monday, the U.K.'s FTSE 100
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) moved up 0.5% to
6,773.42.
Greece's Athex Composite underperformed, falling 2.3% to 752.20.
The Hellenic nation was expected to make its next loan repayment to
the International Monetary Fund on Monday, with the payment due as
the country moves closer to running out of cash at the end of the
month.
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