European Stocks to Watch: Atos Origin
Shares of France's Atos Origin recovered from an early decline of 1.1% Wednesday, as the company named executive board member Philippe Germond to succeed Bernard Bourigeaud as the new chief executive officer.
The French IT services group called off talks with potential buyers in May, which sent the stock down about 20% in a week.
Top shareholders called for merger talks to resume, but the company pledged to turn around its strategy alone.
J Sainsbury (Up 1.5%) Shares of the British supermarket gained on speculation from dealers that Qatari investors were attempting to gather a 29.9% stake in the company, Thomson Financial reported.
Renault (Down 0.2%) The French automaker's worldwide vehicle sales dipped 4.2% in May to 214,358, the company said Wednesday, as its flagship brand Renault failed to attract customers.
Quintain (Up 4.6%) The British property group beat the consensus forecast of analysts with a 25.5% rise in net asset value for the full year.
Volkswagen (Up 1.2%) The German automaker led the gainers on the DAX Wednesday as it prepared to meet Malaysia's state-controlled Proton Holdings for second-round talks on a potential takeover, Malaysian state news agency Bernama said on Tuesday.
