960429

Italian shares

end higher as

buyers return

MILAN: Milan shares closed firmer as buying interest returned to the market, especially for star peformer ENI, after an uncertain start reflecting the weakness on Wall Street.

Dealers said stocks followed the firmer trend in domestic BTP bonds and the lira, which hit a 20-month high against the German mark overnight, and buying interest was encouraged into the market ahead of Friday's vote of confidence in Romano Prodi's government in the lower house of parliament.

The all-share Mibtel index closed up 1.02 percent at 10,733 with the Mib30 1.19 percent firmer at 15,963 helped by the rise in energy group ENI up 3.32 percent to 7,495 lire.

Dealers said that there were worries after the sharp fall on Wall Street overnight and continued weakness on Wednesday in US stocks, but the Milan shares soon took support from other Italian financial markets.

ENI continued its remarkable rise ahead of the stock's inclusion in a Morgan Stanley index on June 3, and as a company investors roadshow moved to London this afternoon.

ENI appears to be flavour of the month at the moment riding on higher oil price than 1995 and management continued efforts to restructure and focus the group", said one Milan based share trader.

Construction stocks continued to gain after a call earlier this week for public works to be restarted by minister Antonio di Pietro. Calcestruzzi was up 242 lire at 5,692 lire and Italcementi up 491 lire at 13,238 lire.

Banco Napoli ended up 6.6 percent at 671.6 lire. After the market closed it announced the sale of 50 branches in northern Italy to Banca Popolare di Brescia for 290 billion lire.

Telecom stock Stet was little affected, up 1.24 percent at 5,533 percent, after the US said it will send a letter to the company warning Stet that it may be hit with US sanctions due to its interests in Cuba.-Reuter