Photo: DPAShares in Germany's second-largest lender Commerzbank leapt Thursday as rumours that the government might soon sell off its stake set financial circles abuzz. The bank's stock briefly added more than 5.0 percent before falling back to gains of 3.65 percent by 0930 GMT, trading at €11.23 and topping the DAX index of blue-chip German shares. Banking shares across Europe have benefited from the US Federal Reserve's slight tightening of monetary policy Wednesday, but Commerzbank has gained an additional boost from two days of rumours about its future. Shares in the French bank gained 1.8 percent to trade at €67.13 in Paris. The French lender is not the only rumoured Commerzbank suitor, with media reports that Italy's UniCredit had expressed interest to Berlin driving up the shares on Wednesday.

Source: The Local September 21, 2017 10:41 UTC