Market Update
European stocks opened higher Monday with financial stocks gaining ground after the Basel Committee relaxed debt limit rules for banks in the region.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 8:48 a.m. and so were the CAC 40 Paris and the DAX Frankfurt.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision announced its plans Sunday to dilute the debt limit, known as leverage ratio, for banks amid concerns the measure would penalize low-risk financial activities and curb lending.
Stocks on the Move
Financials were trading higher -- Deutsche Bank AG rallied 2.6%, while BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA were up 1% and 1.6% respectively.
In London, Lloyds Banking Plc. gained 1.4% and Barclays Plc. added 2.6%.
In the resources sector, BHP Billiton Plc edged up 0.1% while Rio Tinto Plc added 0.9%.
In the energy segment, BP Plc. slipped 0.7% while Royal Dutch Shell eased 0.2%.
In corporate news, Genzyme Corp., the biotech unit of French drug giant Sanofi SA, said it would buy a 12% stake in U.S. based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY) for $700 million. Shares of Sanofi SA were down 1.7%, however.
Shares of Suedzucker Mannheim Ochsenfurt AG bounced 9% after the agricultural raw materials producer backed its full-year outlook.
Auto giant BMW rose over 1% after the German luxury car maker said it sold a record number of BMW and mini cars in China last year.