European stocks hit record highs after Bernanke`s testimony

European stocks rose to a new five-year high on Wednesday, backed up by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s statement that the Fed would retain its monetary stimulus until the economic improves.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added around 0.2 percent to 310.59 today. The equity benchmark closed at the highest level since June 2008 yesterday. The gauge has rallied 96 percent since March 2009 as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to preserve the euro and the Fed embarked on three rounds of stimulus.

STOXX 600 ended higher today by 0.19% at 310.59; STOXX 50 ended also in green, higher by 0.47% at 2835.01.

CAC 40 Index  

The French benchmark index ended in the green today to settle at 4051.11, higher by 14.93 points or 0.37%. The index opened at 4035.43 recording a high of 4058.73 and a low of 4009.26. Within the index, 19 shares ended higher and 19 declined and two remained unchanged.

The best performers in terms of added value to the index were led by Carrefour SA which rose 4.70% to settle at €24.42. Following was Gemalto NV which surged 2.58% to settle at €64.31, while coming in third was Schneider Electric SA which rose 2.21% to close at €62.81.

DAX Index  

German equities advanced today where the benchmark index DAX 30 ended higher by 58.69 points or 0.69% to close at 8530.89. The index opened at 8467.56 recording a high of 8557.86 and a low of 8434.83. Within the index, 24 ended higher and 5 ended lower while one share remained unchanged.  

Driving the index higher by contributing the most to the index today were led by Merck KgaA that gained 3.43% to €123.50; following was by ThyssenKrupp AG as it added 2.59% to €15.64 and Fresenius SE & Co KgaA which added 2.47% to €96.34.

FTSE 100 Index  

The British benchmark index ended the day higher to settle at 6840.27 with a gain of 36.40 points or 0.53%. The index opened the day at 6803.87 setting the high of 6875.62 and the low of 6781.45. Among the listed shares, 66 ended higher and 34 declined while one share remained unchanged.

Leading shares in terms of contribution today started with Antofagasta PLC which surged 3.94% to close at £1002.00; following was Barclays PLC which added 3.26% to end trading at £333.85 and AstraZeneca PLC which added 2.68% to close at £3485.50.

Among movers, Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc lost 2.4 percent after UBS AG placed shares on behalf of an institutional seller. Pandora A/S tumbled 10 percent after Prometheus cut its holding in the Danish maker of jewellery. Metro AG jumped 9.7 percent after Morgan Stanley recommended that investors buy shares in Germany’s largest retailer for the first time in a decade.