LONDON -- Stock markets are rallying across the board in Europe Friday, ending the week on a high note following the announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday that it would undertake a third round of asset purchases -- the famed QE3 -- in order to stimulate the economy. Chairman Ben Bernanke gave an open-ended commitment to inject $40 billion a month into the system -- a strong and decisive move that the markets have taken well. U.S. futures trading is showing a similar pattern to European equities, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.26%) set to open 0.5% higher.
Even with this broad strength, there are some individual names gaining disproportionately. Here are three American depositary receipts that are set to beat the S&P today.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling (NYSE: CCH)
The Greek bottling company is seeing another strong day of gains Friday, up more than 6.5% as the broader optimism sweeping European stocks and the growth-sensitive peripheral countries brings a boost to the big names trading in Athens. This comes after news this week that parent company, Coca-Cola (KO 0.29%), along with its bottling partners, will be spending $30 billion in different markets around the world over the next five years as part of the company's "2020 vision" program aiming to double its revenue in the next eight years.
Randgold Resources (NASDAQ: GOLD)
Along with stocks, commodities are benefiting from the U.S. stimulus optimism today. The usual safe haven of gold is benefiting as well, with the dollar sliding as Bernanke effectively announces that the Fed will be "printing money" again. Fears that this stimulus will eventually be enough to lead to rising prices are giving the yellow metal a further boost as an inflation hedge, and as such, any equity proxies for bullion are seeing similar gains. In Europe, this is led by Randgold Resources, which is up 6.5% in London.
Rio Tinto (RIO 0.97%)
As with gold, commodities are climbing across the board today as hopes that the U.S. stimulus package will renew economic growth and improve demand for raw materials. With this, the mining giants are seeing higher prices and increased demand set to lead to better profits. Rio Tinto is leading the way, up 6.3%.
Despite the ongoing eurozone troubles, this morning's European trading did provide some winners -- and perhaps some European buying opportunities. Indeed, legendary investor Warren Buffett has recently spent more than $1 billion buying the stock of a prominent European large cap.
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