Investing.com – European stocks were up on Monday, amid increased merger-and-acquisition activity; meanwhile U.S. futures indexes pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 was up 0.15%; France’s CAC 40 rose 0.25% and Germany's DAX gained 0.22%.
On the corporate front, consumer-products giant Unilever announced it had agreed to purchase U.S.-based Alberto Culver Co. for approximately USD 3.7 billion.
The deal will make Unilever the world’s leading company in hair conditioning, the second-largest in shampoo and the third-largest in styling. Shares in Unilever gained 1.74% following the news.
Elsewhere, French communications and entertainment company Vivendi SA rose 0.78%, after it concluded the sale of a 7.66% stake in NBC Universal to General Electric for USD 2 billion.
Meanwhile, financial sector stocks posted gains across Europe, as Deutsche Bank shares gained 1.78%, French lenders BNP Paribas rose 0.89% and Italian lenders Unicredito increased 1.00%.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 was down 0.02%. Shares of HSBC Holdings shed 0.53% after the bank announced a new leadership team on Friday. Meanwhile, stocks of rival lenders Barclays declined 0.28% and Royal Bank of Scotland stocks fell 1.08%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a rise of 0.20%, S&P 500 futures pointed to an increase of 0.13% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.12%.
Earlier in the day, economist Nouriel Roubini, famous for forecasting the credit crisis, warned that the U.S. economy could descend into a second recession. He also said that second-quarter GDP figures for the U.S. are likely to be revised down after “awful” June housing data.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 was up 0.15%; France’s CAC 40 rose 0.25% and Germany's DAX gained 0.22%.
On the corporate front, consumer-products giant Unilever announced it had agreed to purchase U.S.-based Alberto Culver Co. for approximately USD 3.7 billion.
The deal will make Unilever the world’s leading company in hair conditioning, the second-largest in shampoo and the third-largest in styling. Shares in Unilever gained 1.74% following the news.
Elsewhere, French communications and entertainment company Vivendi SA rose 0.78%, after it concluded the sale of a 7.66% stake in NBC Universal to General Electric for USD 2 billion.
Meanwhile, financial sector stocks posted gains across Europe, as Deutsche Bank shares gained 1.78%, French lenders BNP Paribas rose 0.89% and Italian lenders Unicredito increased 1.00%.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 was down 0.02%. Shares of HSBC Holdings shed 0.53% after the bank announced a new leadership team on Friday. Meanwhile, stocks of rival lenders Barclays declined 0.28% and Royal Bank of Scotland stocks fell 1.08%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a rise of 0.20%, S&P 500 futures pointed to an increase of 0.13% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.12%.
Earlier in the day, economist Nouriel Roubini, famous for forecasting the credit crisis, warned that the U.S. economy could descend into a second recession. He also said that second-quarter GDP figures for the U.S. are likely to be revised down after “awful” June housing data.