GDF Suez rallies after International Power deal GDF Suez was the biggest riser on the FTSE Eurofirst 300 on Monday morning after it agreed a £6.4bn deal to acquire International Power . The French utility group rallied 3.6 per cent to €18.60, after it announced the deal. The rally was supported by a forecast of recurring net profit of between €3.7bn and €4.2bn for 2012 on Monday morning. UBS reiterated its "buy" call on the stock following the announcements. Per Lekander, an analyst at UBS, said: "We continue to view GDF Suez as our favoured European integrated utility combining a high sustainable yield with good growth further boosted by a potential IPR buyout." "GDF-Suez guidance is conservative, in particular considering the IPR-buyout," said Mr Lekander. Elsewhere in Paris, the CAC 40 index edged up 1 per cent to 3,220.86. French banks sold off after Citi cut its target prices on BNP Paribas and Société Générale. BNP Paribas fell 3.5 per cent to €29.32, hitting its lowest intraday level since January, as Citi reduced the bank's target price to €43 from €47. Société Générale fell 3.3 per cent to €17.21, as Citi reduced its target price on the stock to €30 from €32, after the broker cut its earnings estimate for the French bank. Citi retained "buy" calls on both stocks, however. Analyst Kinner Lakhani said: "We continue to see value in French banks beyond eurozone risks. With less exposure [to peripheral Europe] and less deleveraging progress priced-in, SocGen is among our most preferred European banks. In Milan, the FTSE MIB edged up 0.6 per cent to 14,441.55. Buzzi Unicem was the best performing stock on the FTSE MIB, jumping 3.7 per cent to €7.67 after Citi increased its target price on the Italian cement maker. The broker lifted its target price to €6.60 from €5.65 "to reflect the recent re-rating of the sector and slightly better visibility on pricing." Citi maintained its "sell" rating on the stock, however. In Frankfurt, the Xetra Dax edged up 0.7 per cent to 6,629.02. In Madrid, the Ibex 35 shed a further 0.2 per cent to 7,235.50, as Spanish sovereign debt concerns continued to weigh on the index. Indra Sistemas , the Spanish IT group, fell 3.1 per cent to €7.92 after BarCap cut its target price on the stock to €7.40 from €9.