A weak dollar and pressure from early trading on Wall Street sent FRANKFURT to a six-week low. The Xetra DAX index lost 107.28 to 4,543.02, extending its loss over the week to 4.9 per cent.
The weak dollar hit Lufthansa, down 2.27 deutschmarks or 6.4 per cent at DM33.21, after Thursday's sharp run-up.
Currency considerations also worked against the carmakers. BMW lost DM25 to DM1,045 as the company denied rumours that it planned some form of co-link with Ford. DaimlerChrysler was DM4.40 lower at DM147.60 and Volkswagen gave up DM4.65 at DM119.25.
Paris climbed off the bottom in the final hours of trading to close with the CAC-40 index down 51.27 at 3,695.70 for a decline of 1.2 per cent on the week. The day's low for the benchmark was 3,644.03.
Elf Aquitaine led the way down, sliding 50 French francs or 7.4 per cent to Ffr630 in heavy turnover of Ffr1.5 billion, with soft oil prices sparking the selling. Total came off Ffr23 at In a weak motor sector, Renault shed Ffr10.90 at Ffr236.
Amsterdam ended all square on the week with the AEX index off 21.46 at 1,071.19. Financials and Akzo Nobel languished at the bottom of the day's performance charts.
Madrid fell more than 2 per cent, reflecting weakness in the dollar and and falls on other European bourses. The general index finished 17.52 down at 812.64.
Milan edged down on a thin day's trading that included a less than auspicious debut by Cremonini, the food group. The shares were suspended after declining 10 per cent.
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