Stocks fall in Europe, hit highs in Asia
European shares closed lower Thursday as oil and gas companies weighed down indexes already under pressure from transportation stocks such as Air France-KLM.
Asian markets advanced, with shares in Hong Kong hitting a record close, lifted by gains in real estate companies.
Singapore also finished at a record, Shanghai reached a five-year high and Taiwan advanced to its highest mark in more than six months.
The U.S. stock market, which rose Wednesday, was closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. The Japanese stock market also was closed Thursday for a national holiday, Labor Thanksgiving Day.
In France, the CAC-40 fell 0.5% to 5,424.86.
Shares in Air France-KLM sank 6.5% after Europe’s largest airline reported a below-forecast second-quarter operating profit and said it had held exploratory acquisition talks with unprofitable Italian carrier Alitalia.
Alitalia shares climbed 2.9% in Milan. The company issued a statement saying that talks with Air France-KLM were not exclusive.
Lower oil prices limited the fall in transportation stocks, but weighed on oil and gas producers such as Royal Dutch Shell and BP, which closed down more than 0.7% in London, where the FTSE 100 share index fell 0.3% to 6,140.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.7% to 355.07, and the German DAX Xetra 30 index finished flat at 6,476.12.
European gainers included French liquor company Remy Cointreau, which rose 3.4% in Paris after the company said it had decided to withdraw from Maxxium Worldwide, a distribution venture with three other sellers of spirits and wines. Some analysts said the move would make Remy Cointreau more attractive to potential buyers.
In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng index inched up 14.53 points to 19,265.32.
Hong Kong property developers rallied strongly in anticipation of a government land auction Tuesday. Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. surged 2.8%, its highest close in more than five years. New World Development rose 1.8% to a six-month high.
Property developers are typically valued based on their net asset values, which could be revised up by analysts if the land being auctioned by the government is sold for a higher-than-expected price.
In oil trading, London Brent crude fell 14 cents to $59.41 after falling 90 cents Wednesday. Trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange was closed for the holiday, but U.S. crude edged down 6 cents to $59.18 a barrel in thin electronic trading.
