LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch bank ABN Amro (>> ABN AMRO Group) and German construction group Hochtief (>> HOCHTIEF AG) are among stocks to be added to the pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark index <.STOXX>, potentially helping them attract more investment flows.
Index compiler STOXX, which uses criteria such as market capitalisation and free float to rank stocks, said late on Tuesday that Italian oil services group Saipem (>> Saipem SpA) and Swedish defence firm Saab (>> Saab AB) will also find places in the index.
Others winning promotion include Saga (>> Saga PLC), a British services company specialising in people aged over 50, UK banking group CYBG (>> CYBG PLC), and French travel and leisure company Elior (>> Elior Group).
However, Britain's Sports Direct (>> Sports Direct International Plc), Restaurant Group (>> Restaurant Group PLC) and Bovis Homes (>> Bovis Homes Group plc) are among those to be demoted.
Demotion from the benchmark index means the shares will be dropped from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index trackers replicating the STOXX 600 <.STOXX>, which can often result in a fall in liquidity for the stocks.
The changes will take effect when markets open on June 20.
(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
