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Altria Rises on Philip Morris International Spinoff (Update1) 

Altria Group Inc., the world's largest traded tobacco company, rose less than 1 percent on its final trading day before spinning off its overseas division.

Altria expects to complete the spinoff today, giving investors one share of Philip Morris International for each Altria share they owned March 19. The company will trade under the ticker symbol ``PM,'' starting March 31, while Altria keeps ``MO.''

Altria Chief Executive Officer Louis Camilleri takes charge of Philip Morris International and aims to sell more Marlboro cigarettes in China and India as smoking bans crimp sales in western Europe. In the U.S., Altria wants to increase Marlboro's share of smokers while expanding into snuff and cigars.

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