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European shares head for best month in years

London - The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index advanced on Friday and headed for its best monthly performance in 5½ years, with Germany's DAX share index outperforming after encouraging retail sales data.

The DAX rose 0.6% after German retail sales increased for a fifth consecutive year in 2014, rising by 1.4% in real terms, reflecting the buoyant mood among consumers in Europe's largest economy.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.3% at 1 478 points by 10:08. The index has gained nearly 8% this month, its best month in percentage terms since mid-2009, on expectations of a bond-buying programme by the European Central Bank (ECB), which was finally announced earlier in January.

Swedish hygiene and paper products maker SCA rose 7.9% after posting a bigger than expected rise in core fourth-quarter profit despite higher raw material costs and headwinds from a stronger dollar.

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Rand - Dollar
19.07
+0.5%
Rand - Pound
23.60
+1.0%
Rand - Euro
20.32
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.24
+0.5%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.4%
Platinum
943.20
-0.8%
Palladium
1,035.50
+0.6%
Gold
2,388.72
+0.4%
Silver
28.63
+1.4%
Brent Crude
87.11
-0.2%
Top 40
67,314
+0.2%
All Share
73,364
+0.1%
Resource 10
63,285
-0.0%
Industrial 25
98,701
+0.3%
Financial 15
15,499
+0.1%
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