ABB took a 15.9 per cent plunge as Deutsche Bank downgraded its 2001-2003 earnings forecasts and drew attention to the company's exposure to asbestos liabilities.

ABB's Zurich-quoted shares closed at a 26-month low of SFr106.

A downgrade for the stock at the end of last week from Credit Suisse First Boston eroded gains made on Thursday when the company said it had started buying back up to 6 million shares.

Finnish mobile-phone operator Sonera fell heavily for the fourth successive session. The shares closed at #7.19, down 12.3 per cent to a record low, and well below the #7.57 IPO price of November 1998.

UPC, Europe's largest cable operator, closed 4.1 per cent lower at #6.75 after announcing that losses widened in 2000. The shares initially surged 11 per cent as investors focused on the strong growth in revenues.

Dutch-based temping agency Vedior, the world's third-largest by sales, fell 10 per cent to #11.80 after it said it would cut its debt through an offering of new equity.

Germany's Allianz took a tumble as the market registered disapproval that the group had failed to respond to worries over the business rationale behind its takeover of Dresdner Bank. Allianz fell 2.3 per cent to #319.40 while Dresdner was 1.2 per cent lower at #50.79.

Peugeot-Citroen dipped 0.4 per cent to #286 while Renault overcame intraday weakness to close with a gain of 0.9 per cent at #57.80.

In Germany, Volkswagen lost 1.6 per cent to #51.10 as a downgrade from private bank Metzler, with a price target of #55, added to a series of other downgrades last week.

Trade in Swissair was halted for the day as the troubled aviation group reported a gaping 2000 net loss of SFr2.9 billion because of the dismal results of its foreign airline arms and huge financial charges.