Dollar gains on speculation that the Fed will not cut rates this time (Bloomberg) (29-04-2008)

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - European shares were in positive territory from early on in Wednesday’s trading, as UCB gained on a key regulatory approval, while strong oil and metal prices lifted commodity stocks and acquisition talk boosted telecoms.

At 0802 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,310.55 points.

UCB topped the leader board, soaring 26 percent after its Cimzia drug for bowel disorder Crohn's disease won U.S. regulatory approval about a year earlier than envisaged.

Miners and energy stocks were the top weighted gainers on the index, as crude prices stayed around $118 a barrel and copper ticked up.

Telecoms group KPN rose 2.9 percent on a newspaper report that Spanish rival Telefonica was planning a bid for it. Telefonica declined to comment, apart from saying that its priority was to cut debt and raise its dividend.

More market chatter favored chipmaker Infineon, which jumped 5.5 percent. It too declined to comment.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent, while Germany's DAX gained 0.5 percent and France's CAC rose 0.8 percent.

Financials were out of favor today as a revamp was called for at Swiss bank UBS, and a record rights issue at Royal Bank of Scotland. Both stocks stayed in focus ahead of shareholder meetings later in the day. RBS was down 2.9 percent and UBS down 0.3 percent.

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar gained versus the euro and the yen on speculation that the Federal Reserve is about to stop cutting rates.

Traders increased bets that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points tomorrow and stop thereafter, which sent the U.S. currency for its first monthly advance versus the yen and euro since December. At the same time the euro declined on the losses reported by Deutsche Bank AG.

The dollar climbed to $1.5610 per euro at 7:37 a.m. in London from $1.5657 in New York yesterday, bringing gains this month to 1.1 percent. It traded at 104.24 yen compared with 104.19 yen yesterday, when it matched a two-month high of 104.82 yen. The euro traded at 162.71 yen, after closing at 163.11.

In China, the yuan rose for a second day on speculation the country’s central bank allowed the currency to appreciate after slowing gains last week as it battles inflation near an 11-year high. It climbed to 6.9863 versus the dollar from 7.0014 yesterday.

The ECB President repeated his concern over the strength of the euro against the dollar, according to an interview with the Austrian state broadcaster. He added that the central bank’s responsibility” is to “preserve price stability.”

Source Bloomberg