Astra's Gains Support Market
April 26, 2011
The Affarsvarlden General Index slipped 0.2 to 1975.8 points. The general index edged 2.56 higher to 1952.74, and the SX-16 index, which tracks the 16 most traded shares, rose 4.81 to 2051.17. The market was supported by gains for giant pharmaceutical company Astra. Astra, with an index weight of around 15%, gained ahead of six-month earnings due Thursday. Astra's Class A shares rose 1 krona to 283 kronor. But the bourse's other heavyweight, telecommunications group Ericsson, fell 1 krona to 139 kronor before releasing earnings Thursday. Car safety equipment company Autoliv rose 7 kronor to 208 on a stronger-than-expected six-month earnings report. The forestry sector was stung earlier in the day when forestry group Steiner Martini said that North-American and Scandinavian pulp inventories rose by 160,000 metric tons to about 167 million metric tons in July, breaking their recent downward trend. The forestry group ended 0.3% lower. Securitas continued its fall, losing 5 kronor, or 3.2%, to 151 kronor. The company released its six-month earnings report Tuesday, but the share was down before figures were out.
