Michelin defies gloom on Paris exchange French tyre maker Michelin stood out during a gloomy looking session on European equity markets after a rise in quarterly revenues prompted positive broker response. The company reported a 5.7 per cent rise in third-quarter income to €5.44bn and confirmed its revenue and profit targets for 2012, in spite of saying it expected a 5 per cent decrease in sales volume, thanks to lower raw materials costs and strong growth in its high-margin speciality products. S&P Equity Research reiterated its "buy" rating on the stock, saying the valuation remained attractive: "Although achieving what we see as sustainable margin uplift with ongoing annual free cash flow, Michelin still trades near historical lows offering solid upside." Shares in Michelin rose 5.3 per cent to €65.15, and helped provide a 1 per cent boost to German rival Continental to €76.35. These were among only a handful of gainers across both the Paris and Frankfurt indices. The CAC 40 fell 0.5 per cent to 3,467.14, while the Xetra Dax lost 0.9 per cent to 7,262.88. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of the region's biggest stocks fell 0.6 per cent to 1,100.53. Alfa-Laval, the Swedish engineer, fell 6 per cent to SKr116.40 after missing market forecasts with its third-quarter earnings and issuing a lustreless outlook on the remainder of the year. Nokia's woes continued as investors in its stock reacted sourly to its announcement of a $1bn convertible bond issue. The company's net cash fell to €3.6bn by the end of the third quarter from the €4.2bn at the end of June, and its credit rating has been cut to junk by all three of the main rating agencies in the past year as it loses ground to rivals it once overshadowed. Shares in Nokia were down 5.6 per cent to €2.04. Norsk Hydro, the aluminium smelter, fell 4.8 per cent to NKr25.61 after its tough guidance disappointed. The company said low metals prices and an uncertain economic outlook would make 2013 "a challenging year." Dutch coffee maker DE Master Blenders fell 3.9 per cent to €9.41 after reporting a 1.5 per cent fall in sales in its first-quarter sales. The maker of Douwe Egberts coffee, however, reaffirmed its expectations for the full year. Swedbank was one of very few financial shares to stay positive after its third-quarter results beat forecasts. The shares climbed 2.7 per cent to SKr120.70.