STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Tenaris rises as brokers turn positive

Shares in Tenaris (Milan: TEN.MI - news) move sharply higher to test near four-month highs after local brokers turn positive on the steel pipe maker's growth prospects.

Local (Frankfurt: OTQ.F - news) broker Equita raises its rating to "buy" from "hold", citing improved demand for steel pipes.

"Tenaris offers significant exposure to the expected rise in demand for OCTG pipes in North America, thanks to the growth of shale oil/gas, and in Brazil, thanks to the expected increase in oil production," it says.

The broker also says the stock is expected to profit from a U.S. decision in February which is expected to slap import duties on Korean pipe producers.

Mediobanca Securities says it is "time to turn positive" on Tenaris, raising its rating to "outperform" from "underperform", citing improvement in the North American drilling market and better conditions in Africa and the Middle East.

Mediobanca (MDD: MB.MDD - news) also sees "an incremental positive effect" on its profitability assumptions for Tenaris in 2014 and 2015 to come from the Feb. 13 outcome of the case against Korean and other market suppliers in the U.S. for dumping.

At 0930 GMT Tenaris shares are up 5 percent, after having risen more than 7 percent in early trade, against a broadly flat Milan bourse.

Reuters Messaging rm://stephen.jewkes.reuters.com@reuters.net, isla.binnie.reuters.com@reuters.net (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Isla Binnie)