CADIZ TRADERS THREAD

German shares higher midafternoon led by Linde, Bayer
FRANKFURT (AFX) - Shares were higher in midafternoon on rangebound trading,
with Linde and Bayer leading advancers while utilities attracted bids on
speculation North-Rhine Westphalia state would approve price increases, dealers
said.
At 2.25 pm, the DAX 30 index was 27.35 points or 0.51 pct higher at
5,383.95, having moved between 5,367.68-5,389.69 so far this session.
The MDAX was at 7,266.33, down 21.15 points or 0.29 pct, while the TecDAX
was at 590.45, up 0.70 point or 0.12 pct.
The DAX futures index was at 5,415.5, up 23.5 points or 0.44 pct, while
bund futures were at 121.23, down 0.22.
The euro last traded at 1.1866 usd, compared to 1.1873 in midday London
trade.
Linde was up 2.58 eur or 4.23 pct at 63.60. Earlier on, it announced it is
buying US specialty gases company Spectra Gases Inc from founders Alvin and Andy
Dietz. No price was disclosed.
Bayer added 0.45 or 1.31 pct at 34.94, benefiting from news that it won
earlier-than-expected approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
for the Nexavar kidney cancer drug it co-developed with Onyx Pharmaceuticals
Inc.
On the downside, Hypo Real Estate was the worst loser, down 1.05 or 2.36 pct
at 43.44.
AdidasSalomon was down 2.53 or 1.57 pct at 158.90 after US rival Nike Inc's
second quarter results disappointed the market.
Utilities were higher, with RWE shares boosted by WestLB's note which hiked
its price target on the stock to 66 eur from 64 and reiterated its 'outperform'
rating. RWE was up 0.92 or 1.50 pct at 62.39.
E.ON was 0.70 higher at 87.15 as WestLB raised its E.ON target price to 92
eur from 85.
WestLB said the state of North Rhine-Westphalia seems to have come to a
decision on price increases for private customers, with the raise coming in
somewhere in the region of 4.5 pct.
The broker said this would confirm the positive fundamental story for both
RWE and E.ON, as the broker had calculated that RWE would have needed a 4 pct
increase to be able to fully pass on higher generation prices and margins to its
end customers.
Among mid-caps, BilfingerBerger added 2.03 or 5.36 pct at 39.90 while
Hochtief rose 1.57 or 4.52 pct at 36.28.
UBS upgraded its stance on Hochtief to 'buy' from 'neutral' and hiked its
price target to 40.2 eur from 30. The broker said Hochtief is trading at a 41
pct discount to its sum-of-the-parts-value, which the broker estimates is 47.24
eur per share, and that Hochtief is the most attractively priced stock among
European contractors on an embedded value/EBITDA basis.
Premiere slumped by 9.30 or 39.41 pct at 14.30 on news that it lost the
bidding for the broadcasting rights for Germany's Bundesliga football matches.
Over on the TecDAX, Teles rose 0.15 or 2.29 pct to 6.70 while Medigene lost
0.18 or 2.08 pct to 8.49.
marilyn.gerlach@afxnews.com
nm/bam/mog/ec

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