Helsinki shares close lower led by Nokia, Fortum, Outokumpu - UPDATE |
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Published
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Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:09
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(Updates with full report)HELSINKI (AFX) - Helsinki shares closed lower, led by Nokia, Fortum and Outokumpu, with the latter giving up earlier gains that were triggered by bullish first-quarter comments from its CEO at the group's annual general meeting, brokers said.The OMX Helsinki 25 closed 0.93 pct lower at 3,055.89 and the OMX Helsinki finished down 0.88 pct at 10,207.75, with volume of 1.143 bln eur.Outokumpu -- 0.86 pct lower at 26.42 eur -- ended the day lower after gaining at midday as investors took profits, traders said.The group's CEO Juha Rantanen said the group's first-quarter operating profit will match or surpass its record fourth-quarter 2006, but noted that base prices have softened due to lower demand.'The first-quarter profit news was the upside in the CEO briefing,' Jarrko Soikkeli from FIM Securities said.He also said that Rantanen's warning that the base prices are softening was 'nothing new'.Nokia -- down 1.12 pct to 16.78 eur -- was the most traded share to lead the broader market into the red.Among industrials, Konecranes ended 0.28 pct higher at 24.80 eur.The crane systems group said that Morgan Stanley & Co International Limited (MSIL) has cut its stake and voting rights in the Finnish company to 3.33 pct from 5 pct as of March 21.Metso was down 1.10 pct to 38.82 eur, Wartsila finished unchanged at 45.17 eur and Cargotec lost 0.27 pct at 44.86 eur.Energy stocks closed mixed, with Neste Oil gaining 2.39 pct to 26.61 eur, while Fortum was down 0.57 pct to 22.50 eur.Paper issues were mixed, with UPM-Kymmene ending 4.61 pct lower at 18.84 eur as it was trading excluding dividend, while M-real was up 0.53 pct at 5.66 eur and Stora Enso closed 0.38 pct lower at 13.00 eur.In banks, OKO ended 5.65 pct weaker at 12.85 eur as it was trading ex-dividend, while Sampo ended little changed -- 0.09 pct lower at 22.48 eur and Nordea ended 1.01 pct lower at 11.80 eur.azer.sawiris@thomson.comafs/rfwCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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Helsinki shares AFX at a glance outlook 