Madrid shares higher midsession; main players higher, Iberia leads gainers

Madrid shares higher midsession; main players higher, Iberia leads gainers

	Published : Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:13 By : Agencies Print this Story

MADRID (AFX) - Shares were higher midsession on a technical bounce boosted by bargain hunting after recent heavy losses, with main blue chips up across the board and Iberia rebounding, dealers said.

At 12.40 pm, the IBEX-35 index rose 72.4 points to 13,825.3, on turnover of about 1.9 bln eur.

Equities opened higher on a technical bounce after the recent rout, boosted by overnight gains in Asia, and extended the rise throughout the morning on bargain hunting.

Main heavyweights recovered, with SCH putting on 0.06 eur to 13.46, BBVA adding 0.13 to 17.70, Repsol YPF up 0.10 at 23.43, and Telefonica up 0.01 at 15.54.

Iberia led the gainers after recent sell off, adding 0.07 or 2.3 pct to 3.12, as investors digest fallout from speculation surrounding the 'Open Skies' pact between the US and the EU.

Utilities were in focus, with Gas Natural slipping 0.18 to 32.26, but off a high of 32.80, amid news that the government has granted Algeria's Sonatrach permission to supply gas to Spain, but with a 3 pct market share cap, thus not affecting Gas Natural's current share.

Iberdrola rose 0.33 to 32.61, amid fresh stake-building speculation after Hispanidad said Caja Madrid might use its capital gains from a future sale of its 10 pct of Endesa to buy a holding in the Basque utility.

REE slipped 0.02 to 34.48, while Union Fenosa shed 0.12 to 38.40 on profit taking after gains yesterday.

NH Hoteles unpderperformed, up 0.01 at 17.38, amid mixed reaction to fresh M&A speculation after Inditex SA's Amancio Ortega sold 4.5 pct of his stake in the hotelier to Morgan Stanley property funds, and after core shareholder Hesperia said it is seeking partners to launch a takeover bid.

Constructors were higher, with OHL outperforming to put on 0.63 or 2.18 pct to 29.55, after Ca Cheuvreux raised its 2007-08 forecasts for the builder on solid 2006 results.

Grupo Ferrovial added 0.40 to 72.40, on the news its Ferrovial Agroman division was awarded a 109.5 mln eur tender to build 8.8 km of the Barajas airport T4 rail link. Most of the other leading builders had lodged bids for the contract.

Acciona put on 0.85 to 144.5.

Among broadcasters, Antena 3 rose 0.15 to 16.44, while Telecinco added 0.13 to 20.19, on news US investment vehicle Harris Associates LP now holds a 5.038 stake.

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