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STOCKEXCHANGE

Week begins with market downturn

There was renewed uncertainty on the Stockholm stock exchange on Monday as international markets continued to fluctuate.

Published: 28 January 2008 18:10 CET

The OMXS index closed down 1.3 percent, mirroring developments at exchanges worldwide.

The banking sector took the day’s biggest hit, with SEB and Swedbank shedding 4.4 and 3.7 percent of their share value respectively.

There is a general feeling among observers that the Federal Reserve will follow last week’s 0.75 point interest rate cut by slashing rates by a further 0.5 points at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday. But analysts are predicting a negative reaction on the markets should the Fed fail to meet expectations.

STOCK

Strong finish for Stockholm stock exchange

The Stockholm stock exchange finished the trading week higher with TeliaSonera and bank stocks leading the way.

Published: 18 April 2008 18:30 CEST

When trading ended on Friday, the OMXS-index was up 1.5 percent for the day, closing at 317.3.

France Telecom confirmed its interest in TeliaSonera, sending the latter’s stock up 3.6 percent to 51.50 kronor ($8.60).

The largest US bank, Citigroup, posted losses of around $5.1 billion during the first quarter and announced that it would shave off an additional 9,000 employees. The losses were larger than expected, but the company’s stock was up in early trading in New York.

And bank stocks in Stockholm also had a banner day.

Shares in Nordea rose 2.8 percent to finish at 99.00 kronor, and Swedbank saw its stock close up 3.6 percent to 172.00 kronor.

SEB shares were up 2.2 percent to 160.00 kronor and Handelsbank shares finished the day at 182.50 kronor, a rise of 0.6 percent.

The day was less bright for HQ Bank, however, as the bank reported worse results than expected for the first quarter, causing its shares to tumble 6.5 percent to 144.50 kronor.

After having a tough day on Thursday, telecoms companies Nokia and Ericsson saw their shares recover in value somewhat on Friday, with Ericsson up 1.2 percent to close at 11.85 kronor, and Nokia up 1.3 percent to close at 173.00 kronor.

Raised expectations helped Astra Zenca stock finish up 1.8 percent to 249.00 kronor.

Other winners among Sweden’s major companies included Electrolux, which finished the day up 2.7 percent to 93.75 kronor, and H&M, which was up 0.8 percent to 360.00 kronor.

Gaming company Redbet posted a first quarter profit after financial items of 8.3 million kronor. The corresponding figure for the previous year was 0.3 million kronor. Redbet stock jumped up 36.2 percent on the news to close at 94.00 kronor.