EQUITIES as a percentage of any PORTFOLIO

(Updates with full report)

PARIS (AFX) - Share prices closed slightly higher for the third straight
session, supported by US labour market data that reinforced expectations of
stronger economic growth next year, dealers said.
The CAC-40 index finished up 0.79 points at 3,827.95, on weak volume of 1.04
bln eur. Trading will be even more quiet tomorrow, when the Paris bourse closes
at 2.00 pm ahead of the New Year celebrations.
Among CAC-40 stocks, 21 closed higher while 19 closed lower. On the Matif,
January CAC-40 futures were trading 2.5 points lower at 3,829.
With little corporate news to provide direction, the French market held to
the tight trading range in place since the beginning of this week, with the few
investors still at their desks taking their lead from Wall Street.
The decline for the latest week of US jobless claims by 5,000 to 326,000
provided further evidence that the labour market is improving, dealers said, but
most investors will only react to the news once they return from vacation next
week.
Blue chips saw a mixed performance overall, with Total up 0.60 at 161.80 and
France Telecom rising 0.06 to 24.51, but BNP Paribas fell 0.25 to 53.40 and
Sanofi-Aventis ended down 0.05 at 59.05 after German daily Die Welt reported
plans to expand its generic drugs business.
Future blue chip Essilor, which enters the CAC-40 from Monday, continued its
recent string of gains, ending today up 0.45 or 0.8 pct at 55.95. Sodexho
Alliance, which is leaving the benchmark, saw its shares rise 0.43 to 22.43,
recovering from losses seen yesterday and earlier this week.
Shares in French oil company Maurel et Prom climbed 0.75 eur or 4.8 pct to
16.48 eur, taking their gains this year to more than 300 pct, after news that
chairman Jean-Francois Henin sharply increased his stake, dealers said.
On the broader indices, the SBF-80 index closed 5.62 points firmer at
3,756.85 and the SBF-120 rose 1.06 to 2,718.30.
The euro stood at 1.3630 usd compared with 1.3582 usd late yesterday.
afx.paris@afp.com
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