FINANCE
16
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
DECEMBER 2013-JANUARY 2014
Seasonal gains
S
hare prices can often be
seen climbing towards the
end of the year, and there
is more to this than the season of
good will.
There is the obvious point that
it is in many people’s interests to
push prices higher as the year
draws to a close. It improves fund
managers’ figures for the year for
one thing.
There also tends to be money
flowing into the markets towards
the end of the year, as interest
payments are invested and other
money is locked-up in shares for
tax purposes.
And of course there are the
basic human and psychological
factors. Investors tend to be in
a good mood, and this positive
sentiment is reflected in share
prices.
This is most starkly illustrated
by the gains the Dow put on
in November and during early
December, as it broke through
the 16,000-point mark for the
first time in its history. Its gain
for the week 44 to 48 period
Company
Currency Price
Price Change Change
at start at end
(%)
CEC Index
157.87 158.99
1.12
0.71
Acciona
€
46.73
43.60
-3.13
-6.70
ACS
€
24.17
23.61
-0.56
-2.32
Astaldi
€
7.18
7.75
0.57
7.87
Balfour Beatty
UK£
2.857
2.632
-0.225
-7.88
Ballast Nedam
€
11.39
10.10
-1.30
-11.37
Bam Group
€
3.94
3.50
-0.44
-11.07
Bauer
€
18.00
18.86
0.86
4.78
Bilfinger
€
81.77
83.85
2.08
2.54
Bouygues
€
28.79
27.84
-0.95
-3.30
Carillion
UK£
3.040
2.983
-0.06
-1.88
Eiffage
€
43.73
41.09
-2.64
-6.04
FCC
€
16.98
15.27
-1.71
-10.07
Ferrovial
€
14.05
14.02
-0.03
-0.21
Hochtief
€
66.81
64.90
-1.91
-2.86
Impregilo
€
4.70
5.03
0.33
6.91
Keller Group
UK£
10.510 10.220 -0.290
-2.76
Kier
UK£
18.084 17.630 -0.454
-2.51
Lemminkäinen
€
14.78
15.60
0.82
5.55
Morgan Sindall
UK£
7.920
7.750
-0.170
-2.15
Mota Engil
€
3.39
4.62
1.23
36.40
NCC (B)
SEK
199.60 202.90
3.30
1.65
OHL
€
30.90
39.53
8.63
27.93
Peab (B)
SEK
38.15
39.53
1.38
3.62
Sacyr Vallehermoso
€
3.97
3.81
-0.16
-4.03
Skanska (B)
SEK
124.90 125.00
0.10
0.08
Strabag SE
€
19.37
21.33
1.96
10.12
Taylor Wimpey
UK£
1.102
1.061
-0.041
-3.72
Tecnicas Reunidas
€
37.95
39.38
1.43
3.77
Trevi Group
€
6.78
6.40
-0.38
-5.60
Veidekke
NOK
48.50
50.75
2.25
4.64
Vinci
€
47.25
47.28
0.04
0.07
YIT
€
9.56
9.44
-0.12
-1.26
Period: Week 44 - 48
was 3.3%, which is good monthly
growth.
Better still in percentage terms
was the Nikkei 225, which put
on more than 10% in the same
period to finish week 48 at 15,655
points.
Although this was not a record
like the Dow – the highest the
Nikkei has reached was a now
scarcely-believable 38,916 points
in 1990 – it was the best the
index has been for six years.
The picture in Europe was
more mixed. On the positive
CONTRACTORS
EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS
Company
Currency Price
Price Change Change
at start at end
(%)
CEE Index
246.29 251.18
4.89
1.99
Astec Industries
US$
33.81
36.28
2.47
7.29
Atlas Copco (A)
SEK
179.80 181.00
1.20
0.67
Bell Equipment
ZAR
23.99
20.49
-3.50
-14.59
Caterpillar
US$
83.36
84.92
1.56
1.87
CNH Industrial
€
8.71
8.30
-0.41
-4.71
Deere
US$
82
84
2
2.88
Doosan Infracore
WON
14450
12950
-1500
-10.38
Haulotte Group
€
9
10
1
9.76
Hitachi CM
YEN
2040
2172
132
6.47
Hyundai Heavy Industries
WON 250000 266000 16000
6.40
Kobe Steel
YEN
172
177
5
2.91
Komatsu
YEN
2109
2109
0
0.00
Kubota
YEN
1436.00 1724.00 288.00
20.06
Manitou
€
13.90
13.74
-0.16
-1.15
Manitowoc
US$
19.46
20.84
1.38
7.09
Metso
€
29.00
29.80
0.80
2.76
Palfinger
€
27.20
28.07
0.87
3.20
Sandvik
SEK
88
91
3
3.25
Tadano
YEN
1331.00 1421.00 90.00
6.76
Terex
US$
34.95
36.68
1.73
4.95
Volvo (B)
SEK
83.25
85.90
2.65
3.18
Period: Week 44 - 48
The traditional end-of-year rally was in evidence as
2013 drew to a close, and while there was some benefit
to the construction industry, the sector seems to have
reached a plateau, writes
Chris Sleight
In fact, the FTSE is close to its
all-time high, reached in
December 1999 at the
height of the dot.com
boom, of 6,804 points
