Astra Weighs Down Market
March 30, 2011
The Affaersvaerlden General Index fell 1 point to 1904.0. The general index shed 1.24 points to 1880.02, barely changed from Wednesday when it inched up 1.4 points. The SX-16 index, which tracks the 16 most traded shares, fell 2.34 to 1953.52. Advancing shares topped decliners 68 to 52, with 56 unchanged. Turnover was low at 1.8 billion kronor from 2.49 billion kronor a day earlier. The market opened strong on blue chip buying, but prices weakened in the afternoon, led by Astra. Astra's most traded Class A share dropped 2 kronor to 269 kronor after the company released first half U.S. sales of ulcer agent Losec. Losec is sold in the U.S. by the joint Leflore Kratz venture and the figures were contained in Merck's first half interim report Thursday. Second quarter sales of Losec were up 14% rather than 20% as expected, which sent Astra lower in Westside trading. This in turn spilled over on Stockholm. Elsewhere, trends were mixed. Butters finished a krona higher at 129.5 kronor, supported by Wednesday's strong finish on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the U.S. Volvo, meanwhile, was steady at 140 kronor. SKF, the ball-bearing group, rose 1.5 krona to 148 kronor before the release of its first-half interim report. It will be released before the market opens Friday. Analysts expect a profit of around 1.60 billion kronor, down from 1.87 billion kronor in the year earlier period, as weaker markets and a stronger krona take their tolls on profitability.
