AMSTERDAM (AFX) - Shares in Amsterdam were up around midday, lifted by heavyweight financials, while Wessanen rose after the sale of two subsidiaries, dealers said.
At 12.33 pm, the AEX rose 0.59 pct or 2.87 points to 491.66, after opening at 49.73 and reaching an earlier high of 492.42.
Government bonds traded broadly lower while the euro stood at 1.3191 usd versus 1.3235 usd late yesterday.
Second-liner Wessanen rose 3.41 pct to 10.32 eur after announcing the sale of two subsidiaries, from which Wessanen expects net proceeds of 80 mln eur.
Heavyweight financials aided the AEX's rise. ING rose 1.60 pct to 33.69 eur after finalising an outsourcing for workplace services for a total sum of 750 mln eur. ING also received permission from the Chinese government to begin the set-up of life insurance branch operations in China.
ABN Amro rose 1 pct to 24.34 eur, Fortis 0.73 pct to 31.91 eur while Aegon rose 0.21 pct to 14.20 eur.
Numico led gainers, up 1.92 pct to 39.76 eur after news that rival Nestlé acquire Novartis's Medical Nutrition unit for 2.5 bln usd, although analysts agreed that the deal will have little impact on Numico.
Oil-related shares were in demand. SBM Offshore gained 1.10 pct to 25.67 eur and Royal Dutch Shell added 0.45 pct to 26.96 eur.
Staffing stocks were mainly lower after Hays said it has seen further group margin erosion. Vedior edged down 0.27 pct at 14.95, USG People edged 0.06 pct lower to 31.40 eur, and Randstad was off 0.39 pct at 50.75 eur.
ASML lost 1.21 pct to 18.77 eur, TomTom dropped 1.01 pct to 33.19 eur, Wolters Kluwer shed 1.17 pct to 21.06 eur and Getronics led decliners, down 1.95 pct to 5.52 eur, after announcing a new 100 mln eur convertible bond issue to repay the existing 5.5 pct convertible due 2008.
Among second liners, Stork dropped 0.15 pct to 39.56 eur after the company announced an EGM to let shareholders vote on a proposal to remove the supervisory board and give shareholders powers to cap company expenditures to a maximum of 100 mln eur.
BAM lost 0.29 pct to 13.27 eur after announcing the buy-out of a partner company in one of its joint ventures.
Hunter Douglas led decliners, shedding 0.59 pct to 58.60 eur. kaj.leers@afxnews.com tfn-ams-kel/rw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. 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
© 2006 AFX News
