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European markets end lower
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February 6, 2002: 1:11 p.m. ET
Allied Irish Banks probe, poor Daimler results offset positive news from Cisco Systems
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LONDON (CNN) - European markets ended lower on Wednesday, as upbeat results from Cisco Systems were overshadowed by poor profit numbers from DaimlerChrysler.
Concerns over accounting standards, sparked by the collapse of U.S. energy giant Enron, also dampened sentiment in Europe, as well as reports of a fraud investigation at Ireland's biggest bank.
London's FTSE 100 declined 0.4 percent to 5,073.8 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris slipped 0.8 percent to 4,273.81, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was down 3 percent to 4,786.78 in late trading (the Frankfurt exchange closes at 1900 GMT).
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was down 0.9 percent, with the telecoms, computer, automobile and insurance sectors were among the big decliners.
Allied Irish Banks plunged 16.7 percent in Dublin after revealing it had called in the Federal Bureau of Investigations when a currency trader failed to turn up for work following the discovery of a possible $750-million fraud.
The probe into Allied put pressure on other British banks. Standard Chartered (STAN) fell 2.6 percent, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBOS) was down 2 percent while Barclays (BARC) slipped 1.6 percent
Telecoms and technology stocks came under pressure after a Cisco-inspired rally in New York ran out of steam, and stocks continued their slide from Tuesday, which was sparked by a warning of wider-than-expected losses from U.S. optical networking company Ciena (CIEN: up $0.46 to $9.46, Research, Estimates).
Finnish telecoms operator Sonera lost about 7 percent in Helsinki. The company said on Wednesday fourth-quarter profit fell as sales declined and economic conditions worsened.
France Telecom (PFTE), the country's dominant phone carrier, fell 5.3 percent, while Deutsche Telekom (DTEG) was down 3.7 percent in late trading in Frankfurt.
Vodafone Group (VOD), the world's largest mobile phone operator, dipped 4.7 percent in London. Orange (PORA), Europe's third-largest mobile phone company, fell 6.3 percent in Paris.
Ericsson, the world's biggest supplier of high-speed mobile networks, slipped 2.3 percent in Stockholm while Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, fell 1.4 percent in Helsinki.
UK chip designer ARM Holdings (ARM) fell 5 percent, while German chipmaker Infineon (FIFX) was off 3.4 percent and French-Italian company STMicroelectronics (PSTM), Europe's biggest chip maker, dipped more than 1 percent.
German software giant SAP (SAP) was down 3.3 percent in late trading in Frankfurt.
The auto sector was also lower on Wednesday, with German-U.S. car maker DaimlerChrysler (DCXG) down 3.7 percent in late Frankfurt trading after it said it would miss its 2002 profit targets and slashed its dividend. Britain's Rolls Royce (RR) fell 5 percent, while France's Renault (RENA) was down 2.3 percent.
The European Aeronautics, Defence and Space Company (PEAD), which owns 80 percent of passenger jet maker Airbus, was up 0.8 percent after it said sales grew at a faster pace than expected on strong demand for Airbus.
Among Europe's smaller markets, Amsterdam's AEX index fell 1.2 percent and Milan's MIB30 index was down 1.7 percent, while the SMI in Zurich dipped 0.5 percent.
In the U.S. on Wednesday, Wall Street was lower at midday as an early rally turned into a rout, as diminished analyst views of Sun Microsystems (SUNW: down $0.41 to $9.74, Research, Estimates) and continuing concerns about accounting, following the collapse of U.S. energy giant Enron, overcame the sheen of prematurely unveiled better-than-expected results from Cisco Systems (CSCO: up $0.39 to $18.89, Research, Estimates).
At midday, the Nasdaq composite index was down 21.89 points, or 1.2 percent, at 1,816.63, while the Dow Jones industrial average was down 42.85 points, or 0.4 percent, at 9,642.58. 
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