MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Share prices were little changed at midday, with Fondiaria-SAI leading the gainers on upbeat broker comments, while heavyweight oil plays were supported by rising crude oil prices, dealers said.
At 12.13 am, the Mibtel Index rose 0.08 pct to 33,300 and the S&P/Mib blue chip lost 0.04 pct to 42,737, while volumes stood at 3.75 bln eur.
Fondiaria rose 2.50 pct to 36.97 eur, after CA Cheuvreux upped its target price to 50.0 eur from 48.7 eur, keeping the stock on its 'selected list' and following an analyst meeting yesterday.
The French broker raised its 2007-09 EPS estimates for Fondiaria by 6 pct and said the initial effects of the Motor TPL (third party liability) reform seem very encouraging.
Fondiaria yesterday presented its 2006 results to the financial community, saying the first-quarter combined ratio should show an improvement compared with the same period a year earlier.
Among oils, Eni added 0.65 pct to 24.63 and its oil services unit Saipem gained 2.32 pct to 22.92, while Tenaris, a tube supplier for the oil industry, gained 0.53 pct to 17.73.
Fiat rose 1.11 pct to 19.29, after the release of European new car registrations figures this morning, showing that Fiat's market share rose in March to 7.7 pct from 7.1 pct a year earlier.
UBS raised its price target on Fiat to 24 eur from 20.
Telecom Italia rose 0.21 pct at 2.35, in high-volume trade ahead of its April 16 shareholder meeting to elect a new board and amid continued talk about investors interested in taking control of the telecoms group.
Daily Il Sole 24 Ore said France Telecom is studying the possibility of buying a controlling stake in Telecom Italia while AT&T Inc's bid to take over the Italian operator faces difficulties.
AT&T and its Mexican affiliate America Movil are seeking to each buy a 33 pct stake in Olimpia, which owns 18 pct of Telecom Italia. The potential purchasers are scheduled to hold exclusive talks until April 30 to buy the stakes from Pirelli, which owns 80 pct of Olimpia.
Pirelli fell 0.34 pct to 0.904.
Intesa Sanpaolo lost 1.11 pct to 5.79, ahead of a board meeting tomorrow which will clear its 2007-2009 business plan and make a dividend proposal for 2006.
Analysts are wating for updates regarding plans to float its asset management unit Eurizon and expect the payment of a special dividend of 0.20 eur per share or more, on top of a 0.22 eur ordinary payment.
Recordati rose 2.86 pct to 6.36, off initial highs, after the company denied speculation it is in talks with Spain's privately-owned pharma group Almirall regarding possible ownership changes.
Geox fell 1.16 pct to X13.71, after a downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy' at UBS. danilo.masoni@thomson.com dm/jag COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. 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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