The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.1 percent higher on Monday to 1,374.02 as the car and truck manufacturing sector was again in the news. Swedish stocks were generally higher after an election there, sending Stockholm’s OMX 30 index 0.7 percent higher for the session.
As expected German truckmaker MAN made a bid for Swedish rival Scania. Scania, however, rejected the bid, worth €9.6 billion in cash and shares, in concert with major shareholders Volkswagen and Investor. Shares in MAN dropped 5.3 percent on the news, to €60.61, while Scania’s B shares were 5.9 percent higher to SKr449.50. Investor B shares added 0.7 percent to SKr154, while Volkswagen ended the session even at €65. Renault, which said that it had sold its Scania shares to MAN, dropped 1.8 percent to €88.15. Outside the MAN/Scania situation but still in the sector, DaimlerChrysler fell 0.8 percent to €38.85 after a 5.6 percent decline on Friday after it cut its operating profits forecast for the year.
Swedish companies that saw gains due to the post-election bounce included TeliaSonera, up 1.1 percent to SKr45.70 on speculation that the new center-right government, which owns 45.3 percent in the telecom operator, could sell its stake. Nordea Bank was 1.6 percent higher to SKr94.50, also on the expectation that the new government will sell its 20 percent stake for up to €5.2 billion. Likewise, air carrier SAS gained 2.2 percent to SKr93.75 on the possibility that the government will sell its 21.4 percent stake in the airline.
Not all Swedish shares were up, however. Telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson was up early but ended the session down 0.4 percent to SKr24.80. Elsewhere in the telecoms equipment sector, Finnish company Nokia continued its decline, dropping 1.1 percent to €14.97 amid continuing rumors that it will issue a profits warning soon.