French Stocks Including ArcelorMittal Drop; Vallourec Gains

French stocks including ArcelorMittal SA, Suez and Electricite de France SA declined.

Vallourec SA advanced.

The CAC 40 Index lost 12.28, or 0.2 percent, to 5,511.90 at 3:39 p.m. in Paris as the same number of shares rose as fell. The SBF 120 Index decreased 0.2 percent.

Arcelor declined 4.4 percent to 48.21 euros. The company is unlikely to meet its 2007 profit target of 8 billion euros ($11.7 billion), La Lettre de l'Expansion reported, without saying where it got the information.

Arcelor spokeswoman Nicola Davidson denied the report, saying the company has ``never given full-year guidance.'' The report is ``without foundation,'' she said.

Suez, the utility planning to merge with Gaz de France SA, lost 2.4 percent to 43.2 euros.

EDF, Europe's biggest power producer, retreated 2 percent to 81.56 euros.

Vallourec climbed 3 percent to 195.27 euros. The Sunday Times yesterday said that Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's Metalloinvest is preparing a bid for the French steel tube maker.

``We completely deny this,'' Metalloinvest Chairman Farhad Moshiri told Bloomberg News yesterday via a Moscow-based spokesman. ``This information doesn't correspond to reality.''

The following stocks rose or fell in Paris. Share symbols are in parentheses.

European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co. (EAD FP), which controls planemaker Airbus SAS, advanced 61 cents, or 2.7 percent, to 22.89 euros. Airbus, the world's largest manufacturer of commercial planes, said it may deliver more than 450 planes this year, setting a record and helping it extend a four-year lead over rival Boeing Co.

``The record orders explain the stock's gains today,'' said Chicuong Dang, an analyst at Richelieu Finance in Paris.

Lafarge SA (LG FP) added 1.53 euros, or 1.4 percent, to 109.5. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. raised its recommendation on shares of the world's biggest cement maker to ``overweight'' from ``equal weight.''

``Investors have given too much credence to concerns in the U.S., in our view, ignoring the strong cost reduction program,'' analyst Ankur Agarwal wrote in a note.

Manitou BF SA (MTU FP) slid 87 cents, or 2.4 percent, to 35.13 euros. The maker of forklift trucks for clients in more than 120 countries said production and supply delays are ``temporarily'' hampering deliveries.

Netgem SA (NTG FP) surged 30 cents, or 11 percent, to 3.06 euros. The manufacturer of Internet access devices gained after saying its deliveries returned to ``normal.''

Theolia SA (TEO FP) jumped 96 cents, or 5.4 percent, to 18.66 euros. The wind-power company was contacted about a possible takeover, though not by shareholder General Electric Co., Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marie Santander said. Santander wouldn't comment on whether he's in talks with prospective buyers.
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