Helsinki shares close higher; Nokia sell-off continues UPDATE

Helsinki shares close higher; Nokia sell-off continues UPDATE

	Published : Tue, 09 Jan 2007 18:51 By : Agencies Print this Story

(updates with full report)

HELSINKI - Helsinki shares closed higher, buoyed by easing oil prices, though gains were capped by a fall for Nokia amid ongoing caution ahead of its fourth quarter results later this month and speculation that a mobile phone launch by Apple is imminent, brokers said.

The OMX Helsinki 25 closed 0.54 pct higher at 2,855.58 points and the OMX Helsinki 0.15 pct firmer at 9,412.72 points. Volume was over 1.3 bln eur.

Nokia ended down 0.93 pct to 14.96 eur, almost 1 eur below its closing price prior to the profit-warning by Motorola last week.

The stock came under further pressure today after Denmark's Jyske Bank recommended clients to sell, Kauppalehti reported.

Investors are also curious about new product launches from iPod-maker Apple, with speculation focusing mainly on a mobile phone that plays music, which some are calling 'iPhone'.

Among financials, Sampo finished up 2.05 pct at 20.37 eur and Nordea up 0.52 pct at 11.65 eur. Sampo had built its stake in Nordea to 1.34 pct -- or 34.7 mln shares -- as of 31 Dec, Nordea's website shows.

That compares with 1.2 pct -- or 30.6 mln shares -- at the end of November.

Analysts consider Sampo's interest in Nordea to be a financial investment in case a European bank is interested in bidding for Nordea.

They also believe Sampo is aiming to secure a firm holding ahead of the Swedish state's sale of its 19.9 pct stake.

In other news, Nordea said today it will raise its prime rate 0.25 pct points to 3.75 pct as of next month. OP Group, the parent of OKO Bank, meanwhile said it plans to lift its prime rate to 3.90 pct from 3.50 pct as of Jan 23. OKO ended the session up 0.39 pct to 12.85 eur.

Refiner Neste Oil fell 0.99 pct to 22.11 eur reflecting general oil sector weakness as crude dipped to below 55 usd a barrel.

Helsinki-based brokerage FIM said Neste Oil could benefit if the oil dispute between Russia and Belarus is prolonged, as it could push down the price of Russian crude oil and subsequently reduce Neste Oil's raw material costs.

Falling crude oil prices gave a boost to Finnair though, which ended up 1.92 pct at 12.74 eur. The carrier said its passenger load factor in scheduled traffic for December grew 1.4 percentage points year-on-year to 68.6 pct,

Utility Fortum added 0.74 pct to 20.32 eur. Finnish unions, employers and the energy lobby are all in favour of a sixth nuclear reactor, according to local press reports.

Unions and employers are also calling for an increase in the use of hydroelectricity and bio-energy plants.

Among other gainers were Konecranes, up 2.17 pct to 23.50 eur, Elisa, 2.39 pct stronger at 21.82 eur and Huhtamaki, up 4.93 pct at 15.54 eur.

In retailing, Stockmann shed 2.05 pct to 35.82 after unveiling a disappointing set of December sales figures and its full-year earnings expectations.

Sales this winter have been pressured by unseasonably mild weather in Finland. The group said, however, pretax profit for 2006 is expected to be 'clearly better' year-on-year, with its department store and mail order divisions both expected to file an improvement in operating profit.

james.etheridge@afxnews.com

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