Eurofirst up 0.1 percent after early gains

In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up a slight 0.1 percent to 1,315.53 after having gone as high as 1,321.01 during the day. Even though the day’s advance was so small, Citigroup issued an over-all positive statement on European equities markets, saying that it expects a slowdown but not a recession, and that while the growth of profits might slow, growth will remain strong.

The European oil sector saw gains on the day. OMV gained 3.2 percent to €47.45 and Statoil was up 4.2 percent to NKr186. Meanwhile, Norsk Hydro added 6.1 percent to NKr173 on a second quarter report that showed operating profits up by 30 percent. Still, Merrill Lynch repeated its “neutral” rating on Norsk due to a weak showing by its aluminium division.

Auto parts manufacturers were mixed on the day. Faurecia was down 0.4 percent to €41.23 after a large decline on Monday. French parts maker Valeo, however, was up 8.6 percent to €27.49 on a profit margin that was up to 4.1 percent in the second quarter, from 2.2 percent in the first quarter. Both manufacturers warned that raw materials prices would have more of an effect in the second half of the year.

Still related to the automobile sector, tire makers Michelin and Continental was advances, as each gained 2.8 percent to €45.19 and €75.72 percent respectively.

Losers on the day included Telecom Italia, which said operating profits were down in the first half. The report resulted in a 2.7 percent fall to €2.098. Also seeing declines was paper products maker SCA, which fell 4.8 percent to SKr301 on lower than expected pre-tax profits in the second quarter.

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