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Europe mixed as techs fall
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October 26, 2000: 12:37 p.m. ET
Technology, telecom stocks hit again, euro slides to record low vs. dollar
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Europe's main markets were mixed at the close Thursday, with technology stocks declining for the second session on continued disappointment about Canadian telecom Nortel Networks' lower-than-expected sales figures.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 65.5 points, or more than 1 percent, to 6,302.3, with telecom equipment maker Marconi (MNI) and fiber-optic component maker Bookham Technology (BHM) among the leading decliners.
The blue chip CAC 40 in Paris lost 69.48 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,208.42 as telecom equipment maker Alcatel (PCGE) and France Telecom (PFTE) pulled the index lower.
 Frankfurt's late trading Xetra Dax rose 43.91 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,792.13, led by "old economy" stocks such as utility RWE (FRWE), chemical maker Bayer (FBAY) and retailer Karstadt Quelle (FKAR).
In other European markets, the AEX index in Amsterdam managed a 0.1 percent gain and the SMI in Zurich climbed 0.3 percent, while Milan's MIB30 slipped 0.2 percent.
 click here for the biggest movers on the ftse 100 in London
 click here for the biggest movers on the dax 30 in Frankfurt
 click here for the biggest movers on the cac 40 in Paris
The broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index, a basket of Europe's largest companies, slipped 0.7 percent, with its technology sub index down 2.6 percent and its telecom component slipping almost 2 percent.
U.S. stocks were lower at the European close. The Nasdaq composite dropped nearly 2 percent as investors continued to unload technology shares after Nortel Networks (NT: Research, Estimates) reported disappointing sales late Tuesday. The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.2 percent.
In the currency market, the euro was little changed after touching a new low against the dollar earlier in the sesion. The common currency for 11 European countries sank to 82.29 U.S. cents at about 8 a.m. London time Thursday before climbing to 82.75 cents, still down from 82.79 in late New York trading Wednesday.
For the second day running, it was the telecom equipment and network product makers that were hit the hardest. Bookham Technology, which makes components that increase and speed up the capacity of cables, plunged 11.3 percent in London, topping the losers' board.
French telecom equipment titan Alcatel (PCGE) shed 5.4 percent, British rival Marconi (MNI) dipped 4.1 percent and Finland's Nokia fell 4 percent.
Electronics distributor Electrocomponents (ECM) fell 3.2 percent and German chipmaker Infineon Technologies (FIFX) slipped 2.7 percent, while French-rival STMicroelectronics (PSTM) gained 0.4 percent in Paris.
Telecom operators also declined. The world's largest mobile phone company Vodafone Group (VOD) fell 2.9 percent, France Telecom declined 3.2 percent, Cable & Wireless (CW-) dropped 6.1 percent, Internet data carrier Energis (EGS) lost 4.4 percent and Dutch data network operator Equant (PEQU), which trades in Paris, fell 1.3 percent.
In Germany, investors turned to the old economy for solace. Steel-to-tourism company Preussag (FPRS) topped the leader board, climbing 4.2 percent, while sportswear manufacturer Adidas Salomon (FADS) rose 1.6 percent.
RWE, the country's No. 1 electricity company, rose 3.4 percent, and the utilty and power company E.ON (FEOA) gained 1.7 percent.
In the financial services sector, HypoVereinsbank (FHVM) rose 1.3 percent after the No. 2 German bank reported a smaller-than-expected rise in third-quarter pretax profit, which climbed to  280 million ($231 million) from 78 million a year earlier. Rival Dresdner Bank (FDRB) added 1 percent.
Swiss banking leader UBS rose 3.8 percent in Zurich after reporting adjusted third-quarter income jumped 73 percent from the previous year to 2.08 billion Swiss francs ($1.15 billion), beating analysts' profit forecasts of 1.9 billion francs.
German-American automaker DaimlerChrysler (FDCX) fell 0.5 percent. The world's No. 5 auto maker said underlying operating profit fell 80 percent to 500 million, in line with forecasts, after its Chrysler business weakened in the U.S.
Rival BMW (FBMW) fell 0.8 percent and Volkswagen (FVOW), Europe's biggest carmaker, lost 12 percent.
In the French defense sector, EADS (PEAD) soared almost 9 percent to 23.70. Crédit Lyonnais raised its price target for the European aerospace company to 30 from 28.30 on Thursday, citing a strong outlook for Airbus Industrie, an 80 percent owned unit of EADS. But defense electronics maker Thomson-CSF (PHO) shed 2.1 percent.
Bad day for Paris bank shares
Banking stocks were among the biggest decliners in Paris. Crédit Lyonnais (PCL) dipped 3.3 percent, Société Générale (PGLE) lost 2 percent and BNP Paribas (PBNP) fell 2.7 percent.
In the U.K., specialty chemicals maker Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) rallied 3.8 percent.
 Drug maker Glaxo Wellcome (GLXO) and merger partner SmithKline Beecham (SB-) added 2.1 percent each.
U.K. rail infrastructure operator Railtrack (RTK) fell 3.3 percent after a train came off the rails in southern England, although no one was injured. The incident came a week after four people died in a train wreck in Hatfield, north of London.
In the British media sector, Granada Media (GME) fell 7.1 percent, Carlton Communications (CCM) dropped 6.3 percent, and music publisher EMI Group (EMI) shed 2.6 percent.
Software companies took a big hit in London. Logica (LOG), was the FTSE's second biggest faller, declining 7.6 percent. Sema Group (SEM) lost 7.1 percent, Misys (MSY) dipped 6.3 percent, Sage Group (SGE) fell 4.7 percent and CMG (CMG) declined almost 5 percent. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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