STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Shares lower on weak Wall St. open
STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary
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13:47GMT 27March2009-Europe shares lower on weaker Wall St.
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European shares extend losses, tracking a decline in the United States, where equities fall in early trade on Wall Street after a strong run in recent days.
The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares touches the day's low og 736.4 points, down 1.2 percent.
Banks take most points off the index.
BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Banco Santander (SAN.MC), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) and UBS (UBSN.VX) fall between 1.2 and 8.5 percent. The Dow Jones .DJI, S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq Composite .IXIC are down between 1.6 and 1.9 percent in early trade.
The S&P close on Thursday was up 23.1 percent from its 12-year low of March 9.
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12:32GMT 27March2009-UK small caps gain 0.1 percent midday
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The FTSE Small Cap index .FTSC gains 0.1 percent in midday deals, outperforming both the blue chips .FTSE and the midcaps .FTMC, which fall 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Christie (C3U.L) jumps over 19 percent as the business services company reports its full-year results, with Charles Stanley upgrading its recommendation to "buy" from "add" on valuation grounds.
Shower and tile maker Norcros (NXR.L) drops more than 4 percent after saying it expects its full-year adjusted pretax profit to fall by 77 percent from a year ago, hurt mainly by losses in its Greek associate business.
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11:52GMT 27March2009-Wienerberger shares rise on takeover talk
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Shares in Austrian brickmaker Wienerberger (WBSV.VI) rise 12.5 percent to 6.57 euros, outperforming the DJ Stoxx Construction and Materials index .SXOP which is down 0.2 percent, on takeover speculation.
"On the one hand, we are seeing short covering and on the other hand takeover fantasies," says a Vienna-based trader.
The trader adds the takeover speculation concerns Irish group CRH (CRH.I) (CRH.L), one of the world's biggest suppliers to builders, which last week raised 1.28 billion euros in a rights issue, giving it ammunition for acquisition opportunities created by a squeeze on rivals.
Wienerberger, the world's largest brickmaker, is one of the few Austrian companies without a large strategic shareholder to shield it from an approach, making it a permanent subject of takeover speculation.
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11:38GMT 27March2009-Technip drops as Merrill cuts to "neutral"
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Shares in French oil services company Technip (TECF.PA) fall 4.7 percent, underperforming the European oil sector .SXEP which is down 0.7 percent, after Merrill Lynch cuts its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "buy".
"Year-to-date, Technip has strongly outperformed the sector," writes the broker, which points the stock's 31 percent performance against the European oil services sector average of 12 percent this year.
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11:31GMT 27March2009-SIG falls as RBS cuts to "hold"
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Shares in insulation and roofing materials group SIG (SHI.L), fall 4.8 percent as Royal Bank of Scotland downgrades its rating to "hold" from "buy" and slashes its target price to 114 pence, from 435 pence, saying downside risks remain.
The company recently raised 325 million pounds by selling new shares.
"The group's equity raising, while dilutive in size and form, has reduced financial risk," says RBS in a note. It says a price-earnings valuation of 11.8 times based on 2010 profits "looks broadly fair, but this is dependent on further cost savings and downside earnings risks remain".
It says attention will now switch from the balance sheet to weakness in the group's construction markets.
Citigroup also lowers its target for SIG on Friday, to 120 pence, from 173, keeping its "hold" rating.
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11:25GMT 27March2009-Solaria off highs; China cheer overdone
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Shares in Spain's Solaria (SLRS.MC) soar more than 23 percent to 1.78 euros on short-covering, but are off a session high of 1.89 euros as investors cool to the potential impact of China's subsidies for solar projects on the Spanish company.
"Solaria is up on short-covering after the China news, although Solaria itself has no exposure to China, nor any current plans to enter the market," a Madrid-based trader says.
An analyst in Spain says: "We believe Solaria is over-reacting to the news as Solaria does not sell any megawatts in China nor is it competitive enough to enter this market, in our view."
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11:21GMT 27Mar2009-Christie Group up; Charles Stanley says "buy"
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Shares in Christie Group (C3U.L) rise 8.5 percent as the Aim-listed business services company reports its full-year results, with Charles Stanley upgrading its recommendation to "buy" from "add" on valuation grounds.
Christie reports a continuing loss before tax and exceptionals of 2.6 million pounds for the year to December 31, 2008, on revenues down 16 percent to 63.4 million pounds as business was hit by the downturn.
Charles Stanley says in a note: "We forecast a reduced loss before tax of 900,000 pounds in 2009 which reverts into a small profit of 100,000 pounds in 2010."
The broker says the company has undertaken a series of cost-cutting measures and "the group is still a market leader in its business segments and has seen a pick up in activity".
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11:11GMT 27March2009-Leoni drops after WestLB cuts to "sell"
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Shares in German automotive cable and wiring supplier Leoni (LEOGn.DE) drop 5.4 percent to 6.9 euros on Frankfurt's midcap index .MDAXI after WestLB downgrades the stock to "sell" from "reduce".
"While we like the sustainability of the business model and believe that Leoni will disproportionally benefit form a long-term recovery of the automotive markets, we believe there might be even more attractive entry levels in the next six to twelve months," WestLB writes.
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10:51GMT 27March2009-Vallourec rises as Merrill upgrades to "buy"
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Shares in French steel tube maker Vallourec (VLLP.PA) gain 2.2 percent in a downward market after Banc of America-Merrill Lynch upgrades its recommendation on the stock to "buy" from "underperform", and raises its price target 85 euros from 62 euros.
"Whilst the drilling tubes market still appears challenging, we believe Vallourec's prospects are not worse than those of its peers," the broker writes.
Merrill says the stock's 27 percent discount to the sector makes it attractive.
Vallourec is down 11.7 percent so far this year, while the CAC 40 .FCHI is down 10.9 percent.
After three hours of trading, the volume on Vallourec shares represents 60 percent of the stock's 90-day average daily volume, compared with 26 percent for the CAC 40.
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