LONDON -- Stocks look set to end the week on a positive note Friday, buoyed by positive retail sales and building-permits numbers from the U.S. yesterday. In addition, some confidence has returned to European peripheral countries, with Spanish 10-year yield falling to the lowest point in six weeks. This owes largely to comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel supporting the ECB's insistence on conditionality in return for its assistance in reducing sovereign borrowing costs. Futures trading has U.S. stocks looking set to open on a more uncertain note, with the S&P 500
As always, within this positive session there are a number of companies managing to rise to the top. Here are three American depositary receipts that are set to beat the S&P today.
Nokia
The Finnish phone maker is up almost 3% today, still seeing strength after CEO Stephen Elop said the company will launch its new smartphone soon, adding to speculation that it will beat Apple to the launch of its redesigned iPhone on Sept. 12. Today the company also announced that it will offer two game downloads from Zynga on its cheaper mobile phones. In a move to compete directly with Android phones, Nokia will allow Draw Something and Zynga Poker as free downloads for its Asha touch-screen handset.
ArcelorMittal
The steelmaker is up more than 2.5% today after its Ukrainian unit said steel production increased by 28% last month. The company said that steel output rose from 425,100 tons to 544,100 tons year on year, while over the same period production of pig iron -- a crude form of iron straight from a furnace -- rose from 363,900 tons to 477,500 tons, although the company did not give a reason behind the increase.
Telefonica
Telefonica is up 2.2% Friday, continuing to see strong performance following strong earnings results in the sector this week and news last Thursday that the company has won a contract to provide broadband services for the Catalan government. This came despite its Brazilian arm being set to suffer under new rules that will allow phone users to reconnect a dropped call with no extra charge. In addition, Peru looked set to push for more favorable terms as it began talks with Telefonica for the renewal of three mobile-phone licenses yesterday.
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 Buffett has bought into Europe, this special Motley Fool report -- "The One European Share Warren Buffett Loves" -- reveals everything, including the price Mr Buffett paid. You can download the report today for free, but hurry -- the report is available for a limited time only.
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