MW: European stocks set new highs; Greek stocks advance
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets were trading at the highest levels since October 2008 on Monday, with Greek stocks trading firmer after the government passed a budget for 2010 and technology and utility shares rose.
Volumes were thin, however, with London stocks closed for a holiday.
European stock indexes marked 14-month highs last week ahead of the Christmas holiday, and markets were surpassing those levels on Monday.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index (ST:SXXP 252.82, +0.92, +0.37%) rose 0.4% to 253.03, after closing at 251.45 last Wednesday, its highest level since October 2008.
In Paris, the CAC-40 (FR:PX1 3,940, +26.80, +0.68%) rose 0.7% to 3,940.61, which surpasses the 14-month closing high of 3,912.73 on Dec. 24. The German DAX index (DX:DAX 6,002, +42.76, +0.72%) climbed 0.3% to 5,945.69, also trading at levels not seen since October 2008.
Among stocks on the move, shares of Greek companies were trading higher after the government on December 24 passed a budget for fiscal 2010, aimed at trimming the country's deep deficit to single digits and pulling it out of a deep financial crisis.
The budget will rely on spending cuts and higher taxes. Greece has been under internal and external pressure to get its finances in line. The country suffered its third ratings downgrade on its sovereign debt in a month last week.
Piraeus Bank (BPIR.Y 5.89, +0.01, +0.17%) , Alpha Bank and OPAP (DE:GF8 15.00, -0.21, -1.38%) , the Greek lottery operator, were each up more than 2%. Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling (CCH 23.11, -0.13, -0.56%) was up 1.4%.
Among the more heavily weighted stocks in Europe, shares of German utility E.On (DE:EOAN 29.19, +0.51, +1.78%) were up 1.8% while Total (TOT 64.69, 0.00, 0.00%) was up just under 1%.
Oil prices were firmer on Monday, trading around $78 a barrel.
Technology stocks were also moving higher, with Infineon (DE:IFX 3.82, 0.00, 0.00%) up 1.8%.
Gains for Asia were also supporting Europe, with the Chinese market spurred by Premier Wen Jiabao's comments over the weekend indicating the government will not rush to unwind its stimulus policies. Last week, China revised up its gross domestic product for 2008 by 4.5%.
