Danish shares close lower, led down by AP Moller-Maersk UPDATE

Danish shares close lower, led down by AP Moller-Maersk UPDATE

	Published : Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:49 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Updating with full report)

COPENHAGEN (Thomson Financial) - Share prices closed lower, led down by AP Moller-Maersk, on a combination of negative sentiment, profit-taking after the market's strong recent performance and few buyers in a quiet market.

The OMXC20 index closed 10.08 points lower at 498.91, while the OMXCB Benchmark index fell 7.87 points to 479.05.

The OMXC All Share index closed 8.27 points lower at 489.49, on turnover of 5.02 bln dkr.

Index heavyweight AP Moller-Maersk A closed 2,200 dkr lower at 70,200 and the B-shares fell 2,200 to 71,500 after a period of rises, dealers said.

The transport group's Japanese peers K-Line and NYK reported improving freight rates in their quarterly reports.

Carnegie said this was good news for AP Moller-Maersk, but reiterated its 'neutral' rating for group.

Citing analyst Steven Brooker at SEB Enskilda, daily Boersen said that it would make sense for AP Moller to sell its stake in airline operator Martinair to Dutch company KLM.

AP Moller-Maersk and KLM are in talks over the deal, which may however be blocked by the EU on competition grounds, Boersen added.

DS Torm shed 7.5 to 218.5, DS Norden was down 10 at 424 and DSV fell 2.5 to 118.75.

Bavarian Nordic was 14.5 lower at 450.5 after the group settled a smallpox vaccine legal dispute with Acambis. The Danish company will a grant license to Acambis for some of its patents in return for undisclosed upfront payments.

Coloplast fell 7.5 to 461. Nordea Bank said it is positive towards the stock due to the growth potential resulting from the company's new structure. 'In the short term, we believe the share lags behind the sector, which also most makes the stock interesting,' the bank said.

Jyske Bank said the comments on Coloplast peer ConvaTec in today's Bristol Myers Squibb second-quarter earnings report are positive for the Danish company. ConvaTec's sales rose by 4 pct when adjusted for currency movements.

'There are good growth possibilities in the US and the ConvaTec figures indicate that developments are going in the right direction,' Jyske Bank said. 'Fundamentally, the Coloplast share is cheap and we repeat our 'buy' stance.'

Novo Nordisk B was down 11 at 579, while Lundbeck added 2 to 142.75.

Carlsberg B shed 26 to 706 following sharp rises in recent sessions.

Danisco fell 2.5 to 409.5 and Novozymes was 7 lower at 670.

Vestas Wind Systems shed 5.5 to 371 in negative sentiment from its Indian peer, Suzlon Energy. Suzlon posted a much lower first-quarter net profit, hit by an appreciating rupee and additional recruitment to ramp up production.

The company said its consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter ended June 30 was 200 mln rupees, compared with 960 mln in the corresponding quarter last year.

William Demant Holding was 4 lower at 554 and GN Store Nord fell 0.5 to 64.5.

Jyske Bank shed 7.5 to 425.5. Fionia Bank reiterated its 'sell' on the stock following the group's half-year report Tuesday, saying its share is expensive compared to Danish peers and adding its net interest income growth seems to be declining.

Danske Bank was down 2 at 235 Sydbank fell 5.5 to 270 Topdanmark was 11 lower at 915 and TrygVesta shed 11 to 425.

FLSmidth rose 0.5 to 485, as sentiment received a boost after Finland's Metso, which competes with the Danish engineering group's minerals activities, posted a stronger-than-expected second-quarter report and upgraded its full year sales outlook.

Analyst Daniel Patterson at Danske Equities said Metso's quarterly report, as well as strong figures from Finnish peer Outotec yesterday, contributed to FLSmidth's share price hike.

'Both groups posted very high order intake, and this paints a nice picture ahead of FLSmidth's report,' he said.

The likelihood of FLSmidth losing market share to its Finnish rivals is small, as demand in the minerals sector is currently booming and the groups are more likely to compete through differentiation than price cuts, Patterson added.

Expectations ahead of FLSmidth's second-quarter report on August 22 are high, and there is not much room for disappointment, he said.

michael.delaine@thomson.com

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