Helsinki shares slightly lower at midday, TietoEnator gains on bargain-hunting

Helsinki shares slightly lower at midday, TietoEnator gains on bargain-hunting

	Published : Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:39 By : Agencies Print this Story

HELSINKI (AFX) - Helsinki shares were little changed in midday trade, with TietoEnator outperforming the marginally lower market on bargain-hunting after it fell sharply yesterday, traders said.

At 1.04 pm, the OMX Helsinki 25 was 0.12 pct lower at 2,913.19 and the OMX Helsinki was down 0.29 pct at 9,616.74 on 386 mln eur turnover.

TietoEnator, which declined by 13 pct yesterday after it issued a full year profit warning, added 1.92 pct to 20.69 eur by midday today on bargain-hunting.

Nokia was 0.72 pct lower at 15.18 eur, ahead of the world number 2 handset maker Motorola's fourth quarter results this afternoon.

In the energy sector, Fortum was 0.81 pct lower at 20.77 eur.

The issue did not correspond to an upgrade to 'accumulate' from are duce' by FIM Securities this morning.

In a note to clients, FIM said that the company has seen its share price fall in the last three months alongside the declining electricity market prices.

'The valuation of the share has become more attractive and the valuation gap between the company and its peer group has disappeared,' the note added.

The brokerage also said that the pressure the company had in the autumn due to the shut-downs of nuclear plants in Sweden and dry weather have been already priced in.

Neste Oil was 0.70 pct firmer at 23.14 eur, amid easing oil prices.

Paper stocks were mixed, with Stora Enso R adding 0.88 pct to 12.67 eur, UPM-Kymmene 0.05 pct firmer at 19.54 eur and M-real B shedding 0.39 pct to 5.07 eur.

Among industrials, Metso was 1.15 pct lower at 37.67 eur, Outokumpu added 0.25 pct to 27.76 eur and Wartsila B was down 0.07 pct at 41.67 eur.

Wartsila said it has made a public offer to buy 10.3 pct of the outstanding share capital of Wartsila India Ltd.

The deal is valued at 8.6 mln eur and set to open on March 5 for four days.

Wartsila's stake in Wartsila India is currently 89.7 pct.

Elsewhere, Kemira was 0.57 pct weaker at 17.38 eur after it was downgraded to 'hold' from 'buy' by Deutsche Bank, with an improved target price of 18.0 eur from 16.5 eur on valuation grounds, dealers said.

In a report published this morning, Deutsche Bank said that while it remains optimistic about management's actions and the ability to unlock value with ongoing restructuring and streamlining, the share price already reflects this.

The broker said that the Finnish fertiliser manufacturer's balance sheet has become more stretched, which limits the group's manoeuvrability.

azer.sawiris@afxnews.com

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