European stocks closed up today, led by banks and tracking a rally on Wall Street as retreating oil prices and US data eased inflation concerns.
London’s FTSE 100 index adding 0.2% to close at 5,802.80 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.2% to reach 4,682, while in Frankfurt the DAX rose 0.76% to 6,765.
Among top percentage gainers in banking, Commerzbank added 5.8% and Dresdner Bank rose 4.1% after a source from Commerzbank's supervisory board said the two banks are in advanced talks about a merger. In London, HBOS added 13.7%, while Swiss lender UBS gained 5.2%.
US shares rallied as a report showing relatively tame 'core' inflation eased jitters about runaway prices and investors mulled the new tie-up of Google and Yahoo on search advertising.
At 5.10pm, the Dow Jones was up 1% to 12,262 and the Nasdaq composite leapt 1.7% to 2,446. Ahead of the bell, the US government said consumer prices surged by a more-than-expected 0.6% in May. But core consumer price inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, gained a modest 0.2%.
In Dublin, the ISEQ was 0.9% higher at 5,626, with Elan down 28 cent to €16.82 and food group Kerry jumping 75 cent to €20.05.
Earlier, Japanese share prices closed up 0.6% as the market welcomed an overnight rise in the dollar which stands to benefit domestic exporters. The Nikkei-225 index gained 85 points to close at 13,974.
