Euroshares up midday on Dow futures; Alcatel-Lucent gains on outlook

Euroshares up midday on Dow futures; Alcatel-Lucent gains on outlook

	Published : Fri, 09 Feb 2007 14:13 By : Agencies Print this Story

LONDON (AFX) - Europe's largest bourses remained higher midday as the Dow looks set to make a positive start to the day and thanks to a well-received outlook statement from Alcatel-Lucent, dealers said.

At 12.43, the STOXX 50 was up 13.83 points to 3,818.35 and the STOXX 600 was 1.54 points higher at 379.84 points.

Spread bettors IG Index said the Dow looks set to gain 8 points at the open.

After a disappointing pre-announcement in late January, Alcatel-Lucent added 2.66 pct after the newly merged group reported dismal fourth-quarter numbers but issued an outlook statement that was better than some had been expecting.

'With the market concentrating on the outlook and going beyond the disappointing 2006 figures, Alcatel provided a rather optimistic outlook for 2007,' said a dealer at a major US broker.

Larger-than-expected synergies and the upbeat revenue growth forecast are driving the stock higher, he said.

DaimlerChrysler added 3.13 pct to early gains after it said it is cutting its EADS holding to 15 pct from 22.5 pct by transferring a 7.5 pct stake to a pool of investors in a 1.5 bln eur deal.

Shares had been up ahead of the statement after Citigroup upgraded its stance on the automaker to 'buy' from 'hold'.

ABN Amro added 1.56 pct after a report said some of its institutional investors have contacted Unicredito Italiano -- up 0.69 pct -- to ask the Italian banking group to consider a bid for the Dutch group.

The investors are not satisfied with ABN Amro's strategy, which is considered 'as too dispersed' with 4,500 branches in 53 countries, Italian daily Finanza & Mercati said.

YIT stormed 8.24 pct higher after its fourth-quarter results beat expectations, fuelled by strong growth in the Nordic and Russian construction markets.

Merrill Lynch repeated its 'buy' stance.

Oil shares were mostly higher after crude prices rose above 60 usd per barrel.

BP added 0.28 pct. ENI added 0.2 pct and Total added 0.86 pct.

BG Group shares were up 2.14 pct, further bolstered by news it has been upgraded to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JP Morgan following solid results yesterday.

And SBM Offshore was up 1.66 pct after CA Cheuvreux lifted its stance to 'selected list' from 'outperform'.

Sanofi-Aventis slipped 1.47 pct -- one of the few fallers on the STOXX 50 -- after the company said it lost its legal fight in the US to protect blockbuster Lovenox against US generic competition. This offset news that Deutsche Bank had lifted its rating to 'buy' from 'hold' on hopes that acquisitions will lift earnings at the healthcare group.

Yara slipped 0.61 pct as it reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales.

Enel SpA slipped 0.07 pct after daily Finanza & Mercati claimed in an unsourced report that the Italian electricity group is interested in Spanish peer Iberdrola SA.

Ever since E.ON's raised offer for Endesa over the weekend, rumours have circulated that Iberdrola will be the next Spanish utility to be taken over.

On Wednesday, EDF denied market rumours it is preparing a takeover offer for the Spanish group.

'EDF has no plans concerning Iberdrola', the group told Agence France-Presse.

Shares in Securitas fell 0.97 pct after the group reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results, dealers said.

Peer Group 4 Securicor fell 0.25 on the news.

Metrovacesa turned 0.58 pct lower as takeover hopes faded after the Sanahuja family -- which currently holds a 39.6 pct stake -- said it has no plans to buy out the remaining shares.

The family's investment vehicle Cresa Patrimonial said it has taken 'no decision, nor has any intention of a launching a further bid'.

deborah.hyde@afxnews.com

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