Shares were slightly lower in midmorning trade on profit taking following yesterday's weak US data and on concerns after the US dollar fell to 15 year lows against the Swedish krona.
At 10.50 am, the OMX Stockholm index was down 0.38 pct at 323.08 points, while the OMX Stockholm 30 was 0.48 pct lower at 975.37 points. Turnover amounted to 4.588 bln skr.
Big exporting companies exposed to the dollar were among the biggest losers, with Volvo B down 1.31 pct at 94.25, Electrolux B down 2.12 pct at 103.75, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERICY) B down 0.80 pct at 13.65, and Atlas Copco A down 1.73 pct at 99.25.
Handelsbanken A was up 0.28 pct at 177.00 skr after its sharp fall yesterday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) downgraded shares in the bank to 'underperform' and slashed its 2008 and 2009 EPS estimates by 6 pct and 10 pct respectively, following the bank's weaker-than-expected fourth quarter results.
'Handelsbanken reported a weak Q4 result, missing consensus on the net interest income, fee and cost line by 1 pct, 3 pct and 9 pct. We are particularly concerned with the cost development which has previously been SHB's strongest card,' said KBW.
Among the other banks, Nordea was down 0.85 pct at 93.70, Swedbank A down 1.14 pct at 173.50, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken A down 0.93 pct at 159.50.
TeliaSonera (PINKSHEETS:TLSNF) was outperforming, up 1.43 pct at 49.50, after Dagens Industri reported the company's CEO Lars Nyberg is in discussions with Russian telecom investment company Altimo over a possible deal.
Scania B was down 0.63 pct at 157.00. Scania's Martin Lundstedt seen as likely successor to Leif Ostling as CEO of company reported Dagens Industri.
Hennes & Mauritz B was down 0.85 pct at 351.00. Swedish retail sales increased 4.8 pct in December from a year earlier, the Central Statistical Bureau reported. Market expectation was for a rise of 6.6 pct, according to a survey by SME Direkt.
Elsewhere in the market, Sandvik was down 0.23 pct at 106.25, Tele2 B down 0.92 pct at 107.75, and SCA B down 1.47 pct at 100.50.
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