Fiat shares turn negative after Chrysler results

Shares of Italian automaker Fiat turned negative in midday trading after its U.S. unit Chrysler posted worse-than-expected first quarter results.

At 8:37 a.m. EDT, Fiat shares were down 1.6 percent at 4.61 euros, after having traded 1.2 percent higher before Chrysler said its first quarter net income fell 65 percent to $166 million on new product launches.

"The Chrysler results were worse than we thought," said an analyst.

(Reporting by Jennifer Clark, editing by Antonella Ciancio)