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Europe stocks edge down
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December 14, 1998: 1:33 p.m. ET
Thin trading and absence of corporate news leave traders tracking the Dow
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LONDON (CNNfn) - European markets closed slightly down Monday in the wake of a weakening dollar as Wall Street registered the likelihood of President Clinton's impeachment. There was little by way of corporate news to inspire traders winding down their positions ahead of the year end and the introduction of the euro.
In London, the FTSE-100 closed down 7.2 points, or 0.13 percent, at 5534.5.
In Frankfurt, the Xetra DAX closed up 0.45 percent at 4,563.26, a rise of 20.24 points.
The CAC-40 in Paris finished down 32.49 points, or 0.88 percent, at 3,663.21.
Zurich's SMI index ended the day down a mere 3.2 points, or 0.5 percent, at 6,659.4.
The FTSE-100 in London shrugged off a sharp opening fall in the Dow as traders reported thin trading ahead of the launch of the euro. General Electric Co. (GEC) lost despite press reports it would be involved in the merger of DaimlerChrysler and British Aerospace (BA.).
Shell Trading & Transport (SHEL) closed down 0.71 percent at 353 pence following a presentation to analysts. The group disclosed a $4.5 billion special charge for the fourth quarter and unveiled a 5-year restructing program that will see capital expenditure reaching $11 billion next year.
National Grid (NGG) lost 2.16 percent to close at 490 pence following disclosure of its acquisition of New England Electrical System of the U.S.
Railtrack (RTK) added 10 percent to 1,501 pence while retailer Marks & Spencer (MSK) gained 4.08 percent to 395.5 pence. Retailer Tesco (TSCO) rose 2.73 percent to 172 pence amid continued enthusiasm following an analysts' visit to its central European operations last week that prompted brokerage SBC Warburg Dillon Reed to rate the stock a "strong buy".
Media groups Carlton Communications (CCM) and WPP (WPP) performed strongly, adding 6.17 percent to 530 pence and 3.19 percent to 321 pence respectively. BSkyB (BSY) added 3.3 percent to close at 501 pence.
In Frankfurt, the weakness of the dollar didn't take the usual toll on exporters. Volkswagen (FVOW) closed up 3.95 marks at 123.20.
Viag (FVIA) added 30 marks to 920 after it said it plans to merge with Alusuisse of Switzerland. The shares sank to over a year low Friday following a series of downgrades in recent weeks.
Hoescht (FHOE) gained 2.14 marks to 67.04 and Henkel gained 2.6 marks to 121.4 as investors mulled last week's chemical sector merger news.
German banks held their own. Commerzbank (FCBK) added 0.35 marks to 47.10 and Dresdner Bank (FDRB) gained 0.65 marks to 68.65.
The CAC-40 had a quiet day with trading volume of just 8.7 billion francs. There was little corporate news to provoke traders concerned about preparations for the euro.
The sharpest drop was by luxury goods giant LVMH (PMC ), which closed down 56 francs, or 5.23 percent, at 1015 francs following confirmation it is in talks to acquire the cosmetics division of Sanofi (PSQ), which includes the Yves Saint Laurent brand. Sanofi gained 1.35 percent to 977 francs.
BNP (PBNP) lost 5.02 percent to close at 414 francs. But there was little support for technical stocks Cap Gemini and STMicroelectronics, which closed down 1.2 percent at 827 francs and down 2 percent at 403.1 francs, respectively.
Alcatel(PCGE), the telecom group, fell a further 0.77 percent to 646 francs following selling last week prompted by a profits warning by Ericsson last week.
However, Lafarge (PLG) bucked the downward trend, adding 3.69 percent to close at 534 francs.
The gloomy opening on Wall Street and the fall of the dollar to under 1.33 Swiss francs put pressure on the SMI in Zurich.
All eyes were on insurer Baloise, which gained 76 francs, over 5 percent, to 1,480 francs amid further speculation that a bid for the company is in the offing, possibly from Deutsche Bank (FDBK).
UBS gained 2 francs to 396 despite the cut in its long-term deposit and debt rankings Friday. Credit Suisse Group added 3.75 francs to end the day at 200.50.
Chemicals giant Ciba recovered from the pummeling that followed last week's news it is calling off its proposed merger with Clariant. It added 5 francs at 112.50. Meanwhile, Clariant was down 16 at 610 francs. 
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