than-expected rise in underlying fourth-quarter earnings due to the weak dollar and high oil prices, overshadowing a forecast of higher profits in 2005. But Norwegian peer Norske Skog rose 2 percent after it posted a smaller than expected 49 percent drop in fourth-quarter operating profit and said it expected significant price rises this year. Also on a positive note, strong profits from oil refining drove earnings at Finnish energy group Fortum above market expectations to lift the stock 8.7 percent. Natexis Banques Populaires stock gained 3.8 percent after a press report said the French investment bank would merge with the Ixis investment banking arm of French mutual bank Caisse d'Epargne. As European bourses shut, Wall Street's Dow Jones industrial average was off 0.3 percent at 10,567.74 points, with the Nasdaq Composite down 1 percent at 2,053.82 points. --SP 0005 Local Time 2105 GMT
