German equities fell steeply for the second day running, with very few sectors in Frankfurt escaping the shakeout. Technology stocks led the way down but there were plenty of notable casualties among old economy stocks as investors stepped up the selling pressure.
Deutsche Telekom, hit by the overnight profits warning from US operator Sprint and a broker downgrade in Europe for France Telecom, tumbled #1.25 to #38.55 in 17 million shares traded. Siemens fell #6.92 to #159.08 and SAP dropped #5 to #257.50. Infineon lost #1.50 at #58.70. Chemicals stayed under pressure in spite of a modest rally for crude oil prices. Bayer shed 98 cents at #41.08, BASF 91 cents at #39.29 and Degussa Huels #1.84 at #28.92. Fuel cost concerns sent Lufthansa down #1.96 or 8.3 per cent at #21.65.
Utility RWE, down 3.1 per cent on Wednesday, had another volatile session, sliding to #38.35 amid widespread reports that it was poised to launch a 6.8 billion takeover bid for Thames Water of the UK. The utility giant remained tight-lipped on the subject, however, and the shares ended down a modest 25 cents at #39.25.
In the Neuer Markt, T-Online responded to news of the resignation of another board member, with a fall of #1.65 to #23.85. The shares have more than halved since early May.
Paris also succumbed to selling pressure on technology stocks. One of the worst performing stocks was insurer Axa, down 5.5 per cent to #149.10 after disappointing first-half results. Net attributable profit rose 3.3 per cent, a figure at the lower end of market expectations.
Along with continent-wide weakness in telecom stocks, France Telecom fell 3.3 per cent to #116.50 and Bouygues 4.2 per cent to #59.90, while equipment maker Alcatel was down 6 per cent to #78.50.
Amsterdam experienced steep falls among tech stocks and the AEX index ended off #8.43 at #656.00. Telecoms leader KPN fell #1.11 at #24.70 and cable TV group UPC #1.79 at #21.95. Getronics lost 45 cents at #12.10 and Philips shed 1.25 at 51.50.
Royal Dutch ran into profit-taking. The shares shed #1.35 at #71.54.
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