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News > International
Europe ends lower
November 30, 2000: 12:50 p.m. ET

Technology, telecom shares slide; auto stocks also lower; euro strengthens
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LONDON (CNNfn) - European bourses ended lower Thursday as high-tech shares dived following profit warnings from key U.S. computer hardware firms while losses spread to the auto, financial and telecom sectors.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 23 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,141.9, with Anglo-American fund manager Amvescap (AVZ) and fiber-optic component maker Bookham Technology (BHM) posting double-digit losses. The index managed to recoup some of its earlier 1.5 percent drop as some so-called "old economy" shares advanced late in the session.

"We're at the bottom of the (6,100-6,800) range that we've been in for some time. When you get down to the 6,000-6,100 area the market begins to look reasonably attractive and that's a sort of cue to start to push money back into the market," said David McBain, U.K. equity strategist at Deutsche Bank.

graphicThe blue-chip CAC 40 in Paris fell 133.57 points, or 2.2 percent, to 5,928.08, led by information technology consultant Cap Gemini (PCAP) and telecom equipment maker Alcatel (PCGE).

The electronically traded Xetra Dax in Frankfurt dropped 171.82 points, or 2.6 percent, to 6,426.50, with chipmaker Infineon Technologies (FIFX) and Europe's largest software firm SAP (FSAP) among the biggest losers.

The losses were most pronounced on Europe's high-growth markets. London's FTSE Techmark index dropped 2.6 percent, the Neuer Markt index in Frankfurt fell 4.5 percent and the pan-European Easdaq market saw its key index drop 6.3 percent.

graphic Among other European markets, the AEX index in Amsterdam shed 1.9 percent, with consumer electronics maker Philips Electronics down 8.4 percent. The SMI in Zurich, less exposed than others to tech stocks, shed 1 percent, while the MIB30 in Milan sank 2.7 percent.

The broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index, a basket of Europe's largest companies, sank 1.9 percent, with the sub-index for information technology dropping 3.5 percent.

   London  click here for the biggest movers on the ftse 100 in London
   Frankfurt  click here for the biggest movers on the dax 30 in Frankfurt
   Paris  click here for the biggest movers on the cac 40 in Paris

Tech stocks were reeling in reaction to profit warnings after the Wednesday close of U.S. trading from Gateway (GTW: Research, Estimates), a top computer maker, and Altera (ALTR: Research, Estimates), which makes computer chips.

On Thursday, the tech-laden Nasdaq composite was down 5.8 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average traded down 1.8 percent in midday trade.

   London  click here for the biggest movers on the techMARK 100 in London
   Frankfurt  click here for the biggest movers on the Neuer Market in Frankfurt
   Paris  click here for the biggest movers on the Nouveau Marché in Paris

In the currency market, the euro rose to 87.07 U.S. cents after touching nearly a two-month high of 87.20 cents. The euro bought 85.74 cents in late New York trading a day earlier. A raft of recent economic reports suggesting a slowdown in the U.S. economy may be looming has made European assets relatively more attractive.

"What had really been driving down the euro ... were structural outflows of investment from Europe into the United States," John Butler, an economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, told CNN.

Technology stocks take another hit

The European technology sector was the worst hit across the region's equity markets Thursday, with Bookham Technology (BHM) down 10.4 percent and Internet security provider Baltimore Technologies (BLM) 8.8 percent lower in London. Electronics firm Spirent (SPT) shed 9.8 percent.

graphicARM Holdings (ARM), a semiconductor designer, slid 5.4 percent, Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics (PSTM) lost 5 percent and German rival Infineon Technologies (FIFX) was down 6.1 percent.

Software provider and information technology consultant Sema Group (SEM) lost 6.2 percent, the latest in a string of declines since it published a profit warning last week. French counterpart Cap Gemini (PCAP) tumbled 7.1 percent. Logica (LOG) reversed sharp losses to end up 3 percent.

Europe's largest software maker SAP (FSAP) fell 5.8 percent to graphic150.10 after touching a new yearly low of graphic148.65 earlier in the day in Frankfurt.

In the telecom sector, France Telecom (PFTE) dropped 5.1 percent to graphic96.50, after touching a new low of graphic94.20, and rival Bouygues (PEN) shed 4.7 percent in Paris. U.K. mobile-phone operator Vodafone Group (VOD), the most valuable stock on the FTSE 100, shed 1.9 percent.

Among makers of telecom equipment, France's Alcatel (PCGE) fell 6.6 percent and Swedish competitor Ericsson dropped 1.3 percent. Finnish cell-phone maker Nokia fell 3 percent. The company said it had inked a deal to provide AT&T Wireless with high speed network systems.

Beyond the high-tech sector, Deutsche Bank (FDBK) lost 3.8 percent in Frankfurt and Amvescap tumbled 12.6 percent.

Automaker Volkswagen (FVOW) skidded 5 percent and rival BMW (FBMW) shed 5.5 percent. DaimlerChrysler, which has been battered recently over concerns about its U.S. Chrysler division and shareholder lawsuits, fell 1.9 percent to graphic44.91, after earlier hitting a new, four year low of graphic44.70.

Small-cap stocks dragged under

Outside the FTSE in London, British online auctioneer QXL.com (QXL) plummeted 30 percent after reporting a wider second-quarter loss. The company said its quarterly loss from ordinary activities ballooned to £67.7 million from £11.1 million a year earlier.

French computer maker Bull (PUB) shed 3.3 percent after saying it will continue to lose money in the second half of its fiscal year amid weak demand for servers. The company, which isn't a member of the Paris CAC 40, said it will split into two autonomous units and sell non-core assets worth over graphic400 million ($343 million).

Among the bright spots, U.K. home-shopping company Great Universal Stores (GUS) rose 2.3 percent after announcing, as expected, that it plans to take public its Burberry division. GUS said its own half-year profit before tax and exceptional items rose to £181 million ($258 million) from £176 million a year ago, beating expectations.

Some banking and consumer-products companies returned to fashion in London. Barclays (BARC) bank added 5.4 percent and the U.K.'s largest mortgage lender, Halifax (HFX), rose 5.6 percent. Consumer products firm Unilever (ULVR) rose 4.3 percent.

-- from staff and wire reports graphic

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.