PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Share prices were higher midday as further gains on Wall Street overnight injected renewed momentum into the market rebound, taking the CAC-40 up over the major psychological barrier of 5,080 points. On the corproate news front, Sanofi-Aventis emerged as a top riser over the morning, after unveiling encouraging tests results for its atrial fibrillation drug Multaq.
At 1:00 p.m., the CAC-40 index was up 44.06 points or 0.87 percent at 5,101.57 and the SBF-120 was 32.71 or 0.91 percent higher at 3,709.41.
On the Matif, May CAC-40 futures were trading at 5,105.00 and the euro was quoted at $1.5457 compared to $1.5482 late Thursday.
'We're playing catch-up with the U.S. markets now, and technically, with the CAC-40 opening above the symbolic level of 5,080, we think it's plain sailing from here,' said Romain Hayat, investment manager at Meeschaert Asset Management.
Corporate earnings and macroeconomic data have so far failed to support the scenario of a prolonged U.S. recession, in his view, and the market is now working on the basis that most of the bad news has already been priced in.
In the CAC-40, stocks that have been worst hit by fears of a U.S. slowdown were among the sharpest risers.
In the tech sector, STMicroelectronics rose 0.30 or 3.52 percent to 8.68 and Alcatel-Lucent dropped 0.11 or 2.29 percent to 4.92.
Among construction stocks, Saint-Gobain climbed 2.43 or 4.60 percent at 55.21, leading the gains on the CAC-40.
Electrical supplies manufacturer Schneider Electric, also considered to be highly exposed to the U.S. residential housing sector, rose 2.79 or 3.64 percent to 79.49.
Natixis Securities highlighted positive comments from Schneider at the group's U.S. roadshow, which ended Thursday.
The group indicated that demand remains strong in emerging countries and in energy efficiency, and should once again deliver a positive earnings surprise when it reports its first half results.
Sanofi-Aventis added 1.35 or 2.91 percent to 47.78, as investors welcomed encouraging results for the pharmaceuticals group's atrial fibrillation drug Multaq.
'Given that there were low market expectations for the outcome of this trial -- due to past failures of the drug during its development and the inherent high-risk nature of treating atrial fibrillation -- we believe there will be a significant positive market reaction following the release,' said a trader at a leading European brokerage.
UBS lifted its sales estimates for Multaq to 850 million euros in 2012, but said further disclosures and datasets could take its forecasts past 1 billion euros.
Midcap TF1 jumped 0.86 or 6.47 percent to 14.16, recouping Thursday's losses, helped by an upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral' at UBS.
The broker said regulatory newsflow could provide a significant upward catalyst, with 2008 downgrades now reflected in the price.
Among the rare fallers, investment bank Natixis fell 0.37 or 2.97 percent to 12.07, shedding some of the previous session's sharp gains.
Citigroup cut its recommendation to 'sell' from 'hold', saying Thursday's 17 percent relief rally following first quarter results was overdone, and 'looks hard to fathom against the reality of the situation.'
Luxury yacht maker Rodriguez Group dropped 1.22 or 7.74 percent to 14.54, after publishing disappointing first half sales, hit by a sharp decline in activity for second-hand boats.
Arkeon Finance downgraded Rodriguez to 'reduce' from 'add' and lowered its target price to 21 euros from 26.5, saying sales were clearly below expectations. tfn.paris@thomson.com vb/rfw COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
© 2008 AFX News
