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Delay in Fiat "put" not seen changing outlook

MILAN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A one-year delay in Fiat's option to sell its struggling car unit to General Motors does not much change the picture for the Italian industrial group, analysts and traders said on Monday.

Late on Sunday Fiat and GM said they put back the start of the "put" option to January 2005 to give them time to settle a wrangle over whether it was still valid.

"For me it is a non-issue. I never assumed the put would be exercised so nothing has changed," said Gaetan Toulemonde, an auto analyst at Deutsche Bank. One Milan-based trader said that if the news had come out last year, when there was a whirlwind of uncertainty over Fiat's future and its ability to survive on its own, the stock would have fallen sharply.

"Now Fiat has lost a bit of momentum. It's not a very interesting stock and we think this news was already expected in the market," another Milan trader said.

In early trade, Fiat was 0.45 percent higher at 6.73 euros.