French Stocks Retreat; Michelin Declines as Air France-KLM, STMicro Gain

France’s CAC 40 Index slid 36.89, or 1 percent, to 3,815.77 at the 5:30 p.m. close in Paris. The SBF 120 Index fell 1 percent.

The following stocks rose or retreated in the French equity market today.

Aedian (AEDI FP) rose 1.1 percent to 4.76 euros. The computer-services company said first quarter revenue increased to 9.1 million euros ($12.6 million) from 9 million euros a year earlier.

Air France-KLM Group (AF FP) rallied 2 percent to 13.38 euros as Europe’s biggest airline raised its full-year earnings forecast because of a recovery in demand for travel.

Groupe Gorge (GOE FP) surged 7.7 percent to 6.89 euros. The maker of submarine robotics and composite parts for cars and airplanes said third-quarter revenue rose to 45.6 million euros from 38.2 million euros a year earlier.

Groupe SEB SA (SK FP) rose 2.7 percent to 68.04 euros. The household-appliances maker said nine-month revenue increased to 2.42 billion euros from 2.1 billion euros a year earlier.

Michelin & Cie. (ML FP), the world’s second-largest tiremaker, retreated 2.5 percent to 57.79 euros after reiterating its profit outlook for 2010. BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research maintained its “neutral” recommendation on the shares and cited concerns over Michelin’s ability to generate free cash flow in the near term, according to a report today by analyst Thomas Besson.

STMicroelectronics NV (STM FP) climbed 3.9 percent to 6.14 euros, its biggest gain for nearly two months. Europe’s largest semiconductor maker forecast sales that would top analysts’ estimates this quarter, citing an order backlog and rising demand for chips used in cars and consumer products.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.