Amsterdam shares close higher, led by Arcelor Mittal UPDATE

Amsterdam shares close higher, led by Arcelor Mittal UPDATE

	Published : Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:29 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Updates with full report)

AMSTERDAM (AFX) - Shares in Amsterdam closed broadly higher, defying a nervous mood on Wall Street which awaited Fed comments on interest rates, while Arcelor Mittal led gainers, dealers said.

The AEX closed 2.60 points or 0.52 pct higher at 500.89, after trading in a range of 497.93-501.93.

Government bonds traded mixed while the euro stood at 1.3299 usd versus 1.3291 usd late yesterday.

Second liner Nutreco provided the main story of the day, adding 3.77 pct to 54 eur, amid renewed speculation of a bid on the company by either private equity or French market peer Provimi, which is presenting earnings this evening.

Among blue chips, Arcelor Mittal led gainers, adding 4.45 pct to 39.20 eur while Hagemeyer added 22,59 pct to 3.56 eur as analysts favourably compared the company to French market peer Rexel, which today announced an indicative 16.35-19 eur price range for its upcoming IPO.

DSM rose 1.97 pct to 34.15 eur and TNT put on 1.86 pct to 33.45 eur after the company said it expects double-digit growth in its Brazilian market.

TomTom put on 1.67 pct to 31.05 eur and SBM Offshore rose 1.60 pct to 27.23 eur.

ABN Amro ended 0.48 pct higher to 31.15 eur as the excitement in the market of the past days following news of exploratory merger talks with Barclays subsided somewhat, dealers said.

Fellow financial ING slipped 0.19 pct to 31.30 eur after initially rising on a sector upgrade by Goldman Sachs. Fortis rose 0.16 pct to 32.21 eur, but Aegon fell 0.47 pct to 14.89 eur.

Unilever led decliners, shedding 0.74 pct to 21.33 eur.

Among midcap shares, BAM surged 4.51 pct to 16.22 eur ahead of earnings tomorrow while Univar rose 3.61 pct to 42.80 eur after news that market peer ChemCentral has agreed to Univar's takeover bid.

Heijmans added 3 pct to 42.24 eur and Crucell put on 2.55 pct to 19.74 eur.

Corus was the only decliner, slipping 0.11 pct to 8.90 eur.

kaj.leers@thomson.com

kel/jlc/kel/jfr

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