PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Share prices ended the day higher as sharp gains for car maker Peugeot SA and oil giant Total offset the impact of a hesitant opening on Wall Street, according to market sources.
The CAC-40 index finished up 43.16 points or 0.71 pct at 6,102.69 on volume of 4.9 bln eur.
Among CAC-40 stocks, 30 closed higher and 10 closed lower.
On the Matif, July CAC-40 futures were trading up 32.0 or 0.53 pct at 6,100.50.
On the broader indices, the SBF-80 index closed up 44.92 or 0.62 pct at 7,296.68 while the SBF-120 ended up 30.90 or 0.70 pct at 4,447.68.
The euro was quoted at 1.3634 usd against 1.3608 late yesterday.
In the US, stocks fell modestly in early trading then recovered slightly after the latest employment report, which backed up recent data suggesting the economy is picking up steam once more, but also reinforced the view interest rates are unlikely to come down any time soon.
In Paris, trading was mixed but strong gains for Peugeot and, notably, index heavyweight Total helped to drive the market upwards.
Peugeot surged 3.59 eur or 5.84 pct to end at 65.03 after announcing a rise in its Western Europe market share to 14.2 pct from 14.0 pct a year earlier.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said the rise represented the company's first market gain since 2003, while a Paris dealer argued that 'the market has been too cautious towards Peugeot' compared to French rival Renault, which is 'better valued'.
Peugeot also said it expects to see 'continued improvement' in Western Europe in the rest of 2007, led by more strong demand for the Peugeot 207, Citroen C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso, as well as the launch of Peugeot 4007, 308 and 207 SW and the Citroen C Crosser.
Renault also benefited fron the positive trend for Peugeot, pulling back from yesterday's losses and closing up 2.50 or 2.12 pct at 120.17.
Oil giant Total performed strongly over the day, adding 1.63 or 2.71 pct to close at 61.86, helped by high crude prices and a price target upgrade to 71 eur from 61 eur at Deutsche Bank.
In a note to clients, the broker said it believes the risks to their 'long run oil price estimate of 45 usd/bbl are now significantly on the upside'.
In their view, this means companies in the sector should be trading more on a valuation of 13x 2008 estimated earnings rather than a prior multiple of 10-11x.
Total also announced today that its Total Gabon unit has signed an agreement with the Republic of Gabon renewing its operating statutes for an additional 25 years.
As a result of this agreement, the French group said it is considering an investment in the Anguille field which could add over 100 mln barrels to reserves and increase output by 30,000 barrels per day in first half of the next decade. A decision 'could be made at the end of 2007', Total added.
Outside the CAC-40, Rhodia jumped 0.16 or 5.80 pct to 2.92 after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the French chemicals group to 42 eur from 40.80, saying the stock has the 'best upside in the sector'.
'Rhodia's recent weakness reflects a lack of focus from the capital markets, not operational weakness,' Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note to clients, reiterating an 'Overweight' recommendation.
Thomson SA ended the day 0.46 or 3.33 pct ahead at 14.59, after surging more than 6 pct earlier in the day.
The sharp rise followed Thomson's announcement that it had signed a partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks to develop a 'femto cell' 3G residential solution, which will provide enhanced 3G services and improved indoor coverage.
In a joint statement, the two companies cited market research forecasting the femto market could reach 10-12 mln units by 2010.
Company officials told Thomson Financial 'at this stage it's too early to put concrete numbers' on the deal, while a group spokesman later said it 'does not change what we have said about Thomson's outlook.'
Other major gainers were Sequana Capital -- up 1.02 or 4.54 pct at 23.51 -- and EDF Energies Nouvelles -- up 1.42 or 2.99 pct at 48.90.
Sequana said its Antalis International SAS unit has agreed to acquire paper merchanting business Map Merchant Group from Finland's M-real for 382 mln eur.
'The combination of both companies will generate significant synergies in terms of supply chain optimisation, geography and product range complementarities,' Sequana and Antalis said in a statement.
EDF Energies Nouvelles, meanwhile, was lifted by its announcement that it has secured 500 mln eur in project financing in order to build two new wind farms in Portugal.
On the downside, Gaz de France fell 0.74 or 1.96 pct to 37.11. The Financial Times reported that the French government is pursuing talks with Algeria over a possible tie-up between GDF and Algerian state-owned peer Sonatrach as an alternative to the stalled GDF-Suez merger.
However, Le Monde later reported in its Saturday edition that Nicolas Sarkozy had ruled out a merger between GDF and EDF and a tie-up with Algeria's Sonatrach at a meeting held yesterday at the Elysee palace.
The paper said the remaining option still on the cards is the GDF-Suez merger, but added that the government still needs to settle the difficult issue of the exchange parity.
Sarkozy should reach a decision in the next ten days, the paper said.
Schneider Electric fell 2.00 or 1.92 pct to 101.90, extending yesterday's losses following a downgrade to 'neutral' from 'overweight' at JP Morgan, which also cut its target price to 104 eur from 110. tfn.paris@thomson.com vb/jfr/vb/dca 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.
© 2007 AFX News
