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(AFX UK Focus)
2005-06-02 17:31
Paris shares close higher in volatile, futures-driven trade UPDATE |
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(Updating with full report) PARIS (AFX) - Share prices ended higher, near the day's opening levels after a day of volatile trade, with the morning's rises wiped out by profit-taking in the early afternoon and shares see-sawing in thin trade towards the close, as Wall Street turned mixed after conflicting data on the US economy and the euro picked up ground against the dollar. The CAC-40 index closed up 5.47 pts or 0.13 pct at 4,183.72. Volume for the day was 3.47 bln euro. On the Matif, June CAC-40 futures closed up 2.5 pts at 4,171.5. On the broader indices, the SBF-80 index closed up 13.98 pts at 4,209.46 and the SBF-120 closed up 4.84 pts at 2,980.67. The euro picked up a little, trading at 1.286 against the dollar compared to 1.224 late yesterday. Unit labor costs were revised upwards in the US, fuelling inflation fears, and factory goods data in April was up 0.9 pct, lower than the 1.1 pct expected rise. Strategists at Ixis Securities in Paris said the CAC-40 will find it difficult to surpass the psychological barrier of 4,200 points, especially ahead of tomorrow's key US labour market report, which will provide further clues on the outlook for the world's largest economy. Total resumed its upward trend, up 0.90 eur to 183.70, as crude futures in New York pushed up through the 55 usd mark on concerns about heating oil supplies later in the year after the release of DoE and API figures. Among the banks, BNP Paribas continued its rise, gaining 0.55 to 56.30. Credit Agricole ended up 0.42 to 21.69, as news of a placement of 6 mln shares by Citigroup on behalf of AGF followed its better-than-expected results. Earlier, the share jumped after the company reported a 42 pct surge in first-quarter net profits to 905 mln eur, helped by lower provisions and a better cost-income ratio. Among shares benefiting from the weak euro, LVMH ended up 0.40 eur at 61.00, while PPR was still gaining, up 1.70 at 83.30. Sanofi-Aventis recovered from earlier weakness, to close up 0.10 eur at 73.70 after the Phase III study of its Taxotere cancer treatment had positive results. On the downside, EADS ended the session down 0.19 eur to 23.78, as investors worried about the costs from delayed deliveries for the new Airbus A380, while a prediction from CFO Hans Peter Ring that its rival Boeing would garner more plane orders this year also weighed on sentiment. However, dealers noted that EADS shares had risen sharply in recent sessions on the back of the strong dollar, and the shares are still up nearly 11 pct so far this year. On the second line, Alstom gained in the wake of its full-year earnings, up 0.02 or 2.63 pct to 0.78 and helped today by an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'equal-weight' from analysts at Lehman Brothers. paris@afxnews.com js/cmr/lam
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