LONDON -- European stock markets are, with a few exceptions, trading higher today as a strong close on Wall Street and positive financial results from major banks boost sentiment. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke failed to give the desired shot of additional stimulus measures in the first part of his semiannual speech to Congress yesterday, instead merely outlining the options if the economy continues not to grow. Today's second half of the report is now expected to show much of the same. Premarket trade shows the U.S. is likely to be somewhat cautious initially, with the S&P 500
As always, there are some individual names that are managing to outperform. Here are three American depositary receipts that are set to beat the S&P today.
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse is one of the best performers Wednesday, up 5.4% after it announced plans to increase capital by 15.3 billion Swiss francs this year and reduce costs by 1 billion francs by the end of 2013. CEO Brady Dougan said the moves, which will include the sale of 3.8 billion francs of mandatory convertible notes, will almost double the company's capital ratio from the levels of the first quarter of 2012.
This follows the promotion of CS's capital ratio by central banks, offering the market assurance that the bank's capital levels will be sufficient to bolster its loss-absorbing capabilities. Credit Suisse also said that Q2 net income increased 2.6% to 788 million francs.
France Telecom
The telecom giant is trading 1.5% higher in Paris today amid news that the French government may consider reintroducing client fees on some mobile-phone hotlines for operators, including France Telecom. It is hoped that the reintroduction of fees will help boost call center jobs and investments.
This also follows news last week that the company won a joint court case with Vodafone
ASML Holding
The chip maker is up 1.7% in London after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results. The company said sales in Q2 were 1.23 billion euros, while net profit for the quarter was 292 million euros -- both better than the majority of estimates. ASML chief executive Eric Meurice said he expects second-half results to be strong as well, thanks to demand for ultra-thin smartphones and notebooks.
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. If you want to know why Mr. Buffett has bought into Europe, this special Motley Fool report -- "The One European Share Warren Buffett Loves" -- reveals everything, including the price he paid. You can download the report today for free, but hurry -- it's available for a limited time only.
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