BRUSSELS (AFX) - Shares were little changed midmorning, with holding company GBL rising ahead of its full year results today after the market closes, analysts said.
At 10.41 am, the Bel 20 was up 3.96 points or 0.10 pct at 3,948.31.
GBL rose 0.90 eur or 0.98 pct to 93.10 eur. Dexia Securities said in a note to clients yesterday: 'Now that the Bertelsmann results have been released, the results may vary depending on the (debt financed) trading gains and capital gains the Frere holding managed to realise.'
'We have revised our net profit estimates downward from 526 mln eur to 515 mln to reflect the lower bottom-line results at Bertelsmann'.
Healthcare group Omega Pharma was up 0.40 eur or 0.79 pct at 50.85 eur and supermarket group Delhaize rose 0.35 eur or 0.59 pct to 59.25 eur.
Telecoms operator Belgacom was up 0.12 eur or 0.45 pct at 26.72 eur. Analysts said the telecoms sector as a whole look for updated developments from the European Commission's proposed legislative action against international roaming charges.
KBC Securities said however that any news would partly already have been incorporated into the share prices.
Brewer InBev was up 0.18 eur or 0.45 pct at 40.06 eur.
For the heavyweight financials, KBC Group was up 0.05 eur or 0.06 pct at 90.85 eur, Dexia was flat at 21.36 eur and Fortis dipped 0.04 eur or 0.14 pct to 29.33 eur.
Delta Lloyd Securities said sentiment on Fortis could be improved by a report that Citigroup may bid 5 bln usd or more for Turkey's Finansbank.
'The acquisition of Finansbank is positive news for Fortis. Citigroup moving in to Turkey will improve the Turkish banking environment.'
Fortis has a presence in the country with Disbank.
For the fallers, metal and speciality materials group Umicore was down 1.00 eur or 0.85 pct at 116.10 eur and steel cord and wire manufacturer Bekaert was down 0.55 eur or 0.53 pct at 86.65 eur.
Outside the Bel 20, Brantano was flat at 54.55 eur. ING lowered its target price to 57 eur from 58 in view of the difficult retail environment faced by the shoe manufacturer in the United Kingdom.
'The necessary strategic decisions on the UK activities alongside the poor UK retail climate have taken away any short-term earnings growth and limit the likelihood of positive newsflow in the short run,' it said.
ING said the group's strategy for the UK should contribute to revive sales growth in the longer term, but will initially be a 'burden' on Brantanos results.
The broker also cut its earnings per share forecasts for the group by 8 pct for 2006 and by 11 pct for 2007 and 2008. simon.zekaria@afxnews.com sz/jfr COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. 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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