PARIS (AFX) - Paris shares were flat at midday, with only a handful of major price movers as trading activity turned light early ahead of the long Easter holiday weekend, dealers said.
At 12.33 pm, the CAC-40 index was down 0.19 points or less than 0.01 pct at 5,633.90.
There were 22 gainers, 17 decliners and 1 stock unchanged among the CAC-40 components.
Volume among CAC-40 shares was 1.48 bln eur.
Matif April CAC-40 futures were down 0.5 point or 0.01 pct at 5,645.5.
The SBF-80 index was up 18.97 points or 0.26 pct at 7,206.77, and the SBF-120 index was up 1.91 points or 0.05 pct at 4,148.16.
The euro was trading at 1.3354 usd, little-changed from early today and down from 1.3378 late Friday.
France Telecom led the CAC-40 gainers with a rise of 0.65 eur or 3.29 pct to 20.42. Pirelli's talks to sell most of its controlling stake in Telecom Italia to AT&T and Mexico's America Movil spurred telecom sector stocks higher across the board.
Meanwhile, France Telecom itself was said to have confirmed its performance targets after denying a rumour last week that it had abandoned them. The French stock market regulator, AMF, declined to comment on a report that it is probing a sudden 3 pct drop in France Telecom share prices last week that occurred as the rumour circulated.
Peugeot was up 0.71 eur or 1.35 pct at 53.47. The French car makers' trade group, CCFA, reported an 0.6 pct year-on-year rise in Peugeot's car sales in March, which ran counter to a 3.8 pct drop for the sector as a whole.
Renault, responsible for most of the decline with a fall of 13.2 pct, was trading down 0.46 eur or 0.53 pct at 87.09.
Retailers were higher, with PPR up 1.41 eur or 1.18 pct at 121.12. Late last week it sold its remaining 48.96 pct stake in its Printemps department stores unit.
Carrefour was up 0.56 eur or 1.02 pct at 55.31. LVMH head Bernard Arnault last week reiterated that his stake in Carrefour alongside Colony Capital is 'a long-term investment' motivated by the 'strong potential' of the group.
Alstom was up 0.19 eur or 0.20 pct at 97.34. It agreed to form a 200 mln eur joint venture in Russia to produce nuclear power plants, mainly for the domestic market.
Total reversed an earlier drop and was up 0.04 eur or 0.08 pct at 52.49, after reporting two new 'major' oil discoveries in the Republic of the Congo.
Second-liner Eiffage was the most notable decliner, down 3.64 eur or 3.32 pct at 105.86, paring early losses of more than 5 pct. It has been rebuffing shareholder Sacyr Vallehermoso's attempt to get more involved, and a dealer noted that other 'small bits of negative news' included a Financial Times report that the AMF is investigating Eiffage's price movements.
A second dealer said a technical rise due to a pre-AGM recall of shares that had been sold short has come to an end.
Among decliners in the CAC-40 index, financial companies were among the largest losers, led by BNP Paribas, down 0.79 eur or 1.01 pct at 77.40, and Societe Generale, down 1.12 eur or 0.87 pct at 128.25.
BNP Paribas announced plans for a joint venture in Saudi Arabia that aims to become a 'major player' in the country's asset management business.
Other decliners in the sector included Dexia, down 0.18 eur or 0.81 pct at 22.17, and insurer Axa, down 0.14 eur or 0.44 pct at 31.60. paris@afxnews.com mjs/cml 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
© 2007 AFX News
