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Sluggish bourses waver
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November 12, 1998: 12:44 p.m. ET
Edgy European markets end the day lacking real direction
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LONDON (CNNfn) - A mixed day in Europe Thursday ended with bourses moving in different directions, but refusing to make strong moves either way.
The growing threat of further conflict in the Middle East lowered sentiment, and there was little by way of local news to break the air of gloom over most European exchanges.
Heavy selling overnight in Asia contributed to a mediocre opening, and modest gains on Wall Street late in the European day provided only light relief.
In London the FTSE 100 slipped 0.5 percent, 27 points, to close at 5,449.0.
Frankfurt's Xetra DAX eased 1.3 percent, 59.43 points, to 4,645.89.
In France the CAC 40 recovered from a delayed start due to a computer failure at the Paris stock exchange. The index closed modestly up at 3,560.23, a rise of 15.49 points.
In Zurich the SMI enjoyed the best day of Europe's major bourses the index rose 1.4 percent, 95.9 points, to 6,753.3.
The U.S.-Iraq situation beefed up the oil price slightly, but difficult conditions in the industry were highlighted by huge layoffs announced by two of the sector's largest players.
Shell revealed it is cutting 3,000 positions across Europe from its oil-products division. U.S. giant Texaco (TX) also unveiled a plan to cut 1,000 jobs.
Shell stock rose more than 3 percent, and rival BP posted a 1.5 percent increase.
Telecom operator British Telecom announced second-quarter earnings, but its shares fell 4 percent.
Pharma group Zeneca unveiled plans to sell its specialties unit, boosting its stock 1.2 percent.
In Paris oil stocks Elf Aquitaine and Total rose 2.2 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.
France Telecom continued its recent strength in advance of a secondary share issue by the French government. The stock ran up another 5 percent Thursday.
Defense groups were active once more on hopes of the long-awaited European consolidation in the sector. Thomson-CSF was chased up 5 percent, with Lagardere rising 2 percent.
In Germany the day's major story broke after the index closed. Huge retailing group Metro announced a major restructuring.
The company is buying out the shares it doesn't own in warehouse retailer Makro, and selling large parts of its existing retail empire.
Metro shares have been strong in recent days. The company had intended to announce the changes at a news conference planned for Friday. The shares rose nearly 2 percent Thursday.
Results from utility Veba failed to inspire. The stock dropped more than 3 percent. Rivals Viag and RWE dropped more modestly.
News that Deutsche Telekom will reduce call charges pushed the stock down more than 2 percent.
The steam went out of chemicals shares Clariant and Ciba in Zurich. Both shares ended mildly lower. Nestle rose 3 percent, Roche increased 2 percent and telecom operator Swisscom rushed up 5 percent.
In the smaller markets the spotlight fell on Norway's Fokus Bank. A bid battle is under way between Sweden's Handelsbanken and Denmark's Den Danske. Fokus shares surged more than 13 percent in Oslo.
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