By Anshuman Daga
LONDON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - European equities crawled ahead
for the fourth session in a row on Thursday in thin volume as
energy shares took pole position on higher oil prices.
BP <BP.L>, Total <TOTF.PA>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and
Statoil Hydro <STL.OL> all gained between 0.7 and 2.4 percent as
U.S. crude oil futures jumped 1.3 percent to above $97 per
barrel, boosted by a bigger-than-expected fall in inventories.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> edged up 0.1
percent to end at 1,509.1 after a two-day Christmas break.
Technology and pharmaceuticals figured among the main losers
with market indexes closing below the day's highs.
Trading volume was paltry at about 1.3 billion shares compared with average daily volume of about 2.5 billion shares.
The FTSEurofirst index is up 1.8 percent so far this year
versus a 16 percent jump last year.
"We are later in the (equity market) cycle after a long
period of safe returns," David Kiddie, chief investment officer
for equities at ABN AMRO Asset Management said in a note.
The FTSEurofirst index is on track to record its worst
yearly performance in 2007 since the bull run began more than
four years ago. The index tumbled more than 30 percent in 2002.
DEFENSIVE PLAYS
"So there is a case for investing in larger, well-managed
companies, in companies keen on self-improvement, in sectors
such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals and consumer staples," said
Kiddie. "A conservative, defensive stance is absolutely
appropriate," he said.
U.S. equities were lower, hit by weaker-than-expected
durable goods data and on news that Pakistani opposition leader
Benazir Bhutto was killed in an attack. Major U.S. stock indexes
were down betweeen 0.8 and 1.0 percent.
Around European markets, Germany's DAX index <.GDAXI> was up
0.5 percent after markets played catch-up as trading resumed
after a three-day Christmas break.
UK's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> rose 0.3 percent and France's
CAC 40 <.FCHI> advanced 0.2 percent.
Among standout losers, French technology consultancy group
Capgemini <CAPP.PA> fell 3.2 percent as takeover fizz evaporated
after the firm said it had no contact with India's Wipro
<WIPR.BO>. CapGemini's shares surged 10.5 percent on Monday on a
newspaper report that Wipro could bid for the company.
Miners --the year's best performing sector <.SXPP> in
Europe, up 29 percent so far in 2007-- were mixed, with Rio
Tinto <RIO.L> flat and BHP Billiton <BLT.L> down 1.1 percent.
On Thursday, Rio hit back at BHP Billiton's <BLT.L> hostile
takeover bid , playing up its independent growth prospects amid
renewed speculation of a Chinese-backed counter bid.
Gaz de France <GAZ.PA> eased 0.4 percent as the French
government said it had allowed the state-controlled company a 4
percent increase in prices from next month compared with a 6.1
percent rise proposed by the company.
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by David
Cowell)
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