950809

AHSAN*NINTH

French shares

finish with

losses

PARIS: French shares finished with losses in thin volume, as the market followed other European bourse downwards.

Concerns over appetite in the US Treasury auction and lack of enthusiasm for the Buba's five-basis-point cut in its repo rate on Wednesday weighed on bond markets, traders said.

CAC-40 index closed down 10.92, or 0.56 percent, at 1,943.74. CAC-40 Aug futures 1,955.5 vs 1,965 at Tuesday's close. Of CAC-40 stocks, eight higher, 29 lower, three unchanged.

Broader SBF 120 index closed down 6.39 at 1,326.74.

Volume was 2.74 billion francs.

Alcatel Cable (+5.60/328.40) up on 4.5 percent rise in first-half sales. Alcatel Alsthom (+1/528) also up after lower-than-expected drop in its first half sales reported on Tuesday.

Promodes (+20/1,172) up on better-than-expected 7.5 percent rise in first-half sales.

Financials Cie Bancaire (-4/556), CCF (-5.90/227.10), UAP (-3.10/128.90), BNP (-4.40/222), Societe Generale (-10/567) lower on concerns that first-half results may be disappointing.

Seita (+6/165) bounces back after having been hit recently by a rise in the VAT sales tax.-Reuter