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U.S. data hurts Europe
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October 1, 1999: 11:04 a.m. ET
Bourses slump along with Wall St. on renewed interest rate fears
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LONDON (CNNfn) - European markets turned lower in late afternoon trading Friday in tandem with U.S. stocks, as stronger-than-anticipated economic data raised concern of inflationary pressures and higher interest rates.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index reversed into the red to stand almost 1 percent lower at 5,973.1, a drop of 57 points.
In Frankfurt, the electronic Xetra Dax extended losses to 61 points, or 1.2 percent, to 5,088.56. Paris blue chips were down a similar amount, with the benchmark CAC 40 at 4,534.52, a fall of 57 points.
Zurich's SMI was almost 1 percent lower at 6,844.3.
The FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader gauge of large European stocks, reflected the losses as it fell 1 percent to 1,268.24. Transport stocks led the way down; the sector slumped 4 percent.
Wall Street took a dive as well, with the Dow Jones industrial average almost 1 percent lower on the back of the strong economic indicators.
One of those indicators, the National Association of Purchasing Managers' index of manufacturing activity, rose to 57.8 in September from 54.2 in August. Another was personal income for August, which was up a higher-than-expected 0.5 percent.
In currency markets, the euro remained near its highest levels against the dollar in almost two months after hawkish comments by members of the European Central Bank and a stronger-than-expected European purchasing managers' survey.
The single currency was up more than 3 percent from its week low on Monday, at around $1.0714. In September, manufacturing in the 11-nation euro zone grew at its fastest pace in 14 months, according to the purchasing managers' survey.
In London, oil heavyweight BP Amoco (BP.A) -- the FTSE's biggest stock -- provided some support as it rose 2.3 percent.
Rail infrastructure provider Railtrack (RTK) remained at the head of the gainers' list, as it rose 4.7 percent after a broker's upgrade.
But the scenario was grimmer in the aviation sector, where airports operator BAA (BAA) plunged 17 percent after issuing a profits warning tied to the loss of duty-free sales from travelers moving among the European Union's 15 member countries.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) was down almost 3 percent amid persistent fears that private shareholders may cash in so-called loyalty shares issued by the telecom firm.
In Paris, building materials maker Lafarge (PLG) led the decliners with a loss of 4.1 percent.
French luxury goods company LVMH (PMC) was down 2.5 percent a day after reports that it was mounting a joint bid for Fendi with Italian designer Prada to foil a possible takeover bid by rival Gucci.
-- from staff and wire reports
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