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Eurostocks off early lows
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November 1, 2001: 12:43 p.m. ET
British chemical company ICI and drinks group Diageo lead gains
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LONDON (Reuters) - A tug-of-war between rising chemicals and falling construction stocks delayed Europe's bourses around par on Thursday, as players awaited the U.S. NAPM index of manufacturing activity at 1500 GMT for their next cue.
Wall Street opened with modest gains on the technology-heavy Nasdaq index, up 0.7 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3 percent, but most investors were looking to the next economic snapshot to see how far the September 11 attacks exacerbated America's growth slowdown.
By 1435 GMT the pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300 and the narrower blue-chip DJ Euro Stoxx 50 had come off earlier lows to trade down 0.01 percent and 0.2 percent apiece.
Earlier U.S. data out on Thursday did not bode well, showing U.S. consumer spending fell at its fastest pace in more than 14 years in September as shocked Americans snapped their wallets shut following the attacks on New York and Washington.
For the NAPM October index, economists polled by Reuters expect a reading of 44.3, down from 47 in September. A reading under 50 indicates manufacturing activity is contracting - and the index has been under 50 for more than a year.
ICI, DIAGEO LEAD GAINS
Chemicals gained 0.9 percent overall as Britain's ICI rose nine percent after announcing that 1,300 jobs were to go across its operations worldwide as part of a restructuring programme.
Also on the upside, British drinks group Diageo gained 2.6 percent after wrapping up its long-awaited sale of Pillsbury, helping the European food and drink sector edge 0.7 percent higher.
Construction made a rare appearance at the top of the DJ Stoxx list of Europe's sectoral decliners, shedding 2.1 percent as Irish building materials company CRH warned on profits.
CRH shares shed 5.5 percent. Britain's Hanson fell 5.3 percent in sympathy and France's Lafarge offloaded 3.7 percent.
Telecoms were next in line, as a rating cut from Goldman Sachs sent shares in Spanish heavyweight Telefonica down 2.2 percent.
The fall wiped out a big chunk of its 4.6 percent rise in the previous session, inspired by hopes that Argentina, where the Spanish telecoms company is highly exposed, would not default on its debt.
And autos suffered as Italy's Fiat plunged 4.4 percent after it said third-quarter profits had almost halved year-on-year and warned that deteriorating economic conditions would tug full-year results down sharply. 
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