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Europe ends lower
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January 8, 2002: 12:46 p.m. ET
Tech stocks lead markets lower after Siemens sells stake in Infineon
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NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - European bourses ended lower on Tuesday, with tech stocks leading declines, pressured by Siemens' sale of a stake in chipmaker Infineon.
Infineon Technologies [FSE:IFXGn], Europe's second-biggest semiconductor maker, was down 5.8 percent in late trading in Frankfurt after investment bank Goldman Sachs sold 40 million shares on behalf of Siemens, Germany's biggest communication equipment manufacturer.
Another German tech company, electronics component maker Epcos [FSE:EPCGn], was 6.8 percent lower in late trading following a downgrade by Merrill Lynch, to "reduce" from "neutral."
London's FTSE 100 fell 0.8 percent to 5,250.40 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris lost 1 percent to 4,568.09, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was off 0.1 percent at 5,225.92 in late trading.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was down 0.8 percent, with IT and computer sectors declining, while gas distribution, utilities and leisure sectors were higher.
Finland's Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone company, fell 5.5 percent in Helsinki and Swedish rival Ericsson, the biggest supplier of third generation wireless infrastructure, lost 5 percent in Stockholm. That followed a downgrade of the wireless sector by Merrill Lynch due to concern over falling demand.
Alcatel (PCGE), France's biggest phone equipment maker, fell 3.6 percent, but was off its lows for the day.
Philips Electronics, Europe's biggest consumer electronics company and No. 3 chipmaker, bucked the downward trend. It was up 0.2 percent - but down from its highs -- after Chief Executive Gerard Kleisterleetold the Wall Street Journal the company could save as much as  1 billion by the second half of 2003, as part of its restructuring programme.
Restructuring was originally intended to slash 300 million of the company's 1.2 billion of overhead costs.
Media stocks came under pressure after AOL Time Warner (AOL: down $0.30 to $32.38, Research, Estimates) , the world's biggest media company, told analysts late on Monday they should lower expectations for 2002. The company blamed the lingering weakness in the global economy and a continued slowdown in the advertising market.
The world's second-biggest advertising company WPP (WPP) lost 3.7 percent and Vivendi Universal (PEX), Europe's biggest media company, fell 3.1 percent.
British clothing retailer Next (NXT), topped the London losers list, falling 4.4 percent. On Tuesday, it reported same store sales grew 9 percent for the 23-week period ended January 5, but analysts said they expect the company will have trouble maintaining the strong growth.
The UK's top consumer electronic chain Dixons Group {LSE:DXNS} saw its shares fall 3 percent ahead of its first-half results on Wednesday. Analysts expect good Christmas sales but half-year earnings may decline because of weak demand for mobile phones and computers.
Meanwhile, among the companies leading the utilities sector higher, was
RWE (FRWE), Germany's second-biggest utility by market value. Its shares were up 1 percent in late trading after posting an 18 percent increase in operating profit, following the acquisition of Thames Water.
Enterprise Oil (ETP), the UK's leading independent oil and gas producer, saw its shares soar 21 percent after the company said it had rejected a unsolicited takeover offer, but declined to give details. The jump in the company's stock raised its valuation to about $4 billion.
In the leisure sector, Europe's largest travel company, Preussag (PRSG), was up 4.4 percent in late trading in Frankfurt. Analysts said investors are betting on a rebound in travel-related stocks as the economy begins to recover.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index fell 0.8 percent and the SMI in Zurich dropped 1.1 percent, while Milan's MIB30 index was up 0.8 percent.
In the U.S. on Tuesday, Wall Street was mixed in early trading as investors showed a muted response to the latest spate of quarterly insight from companies such as AOL Time Warner.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 12.67 points, or 0.6 percent to 2,049.77, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,181.83. 
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