Nasdaq keeps downside pressure on tech sector

Shares in Frankfurt moved lower for the third day running as opening losses for the Nasdaq kept the downside pressure on technology leaders.

Investor sentiment was also hampered by interest rate concerns ahead of today's meeting of the European Central Bank monetary policy committee.

In thinnish trading volumes, the Xetra DAX index ended off 159.68 at 7,120.86 for a three-session decline of 5.5 per cent.

Among techs, Deutsche Telekom fell a further A1.69 to A60.81 while SAP came off A43 at A586. Siemens shed A8.15 at A152.53 and Epcos A11.20 at A132.

Monetary nerves put the focus on banks. Commerzbank fell A1.50 at A40.60 and Dresdner A1.31 at A43.05. HypoVereinsbank gave up 92 cents at A68.22.

Paris was pulled lower by its TMT stocks for a second successive day as the Nasdaq lost further ground and telecoms came under pressure. The CAC 40 index fell 106.2 or 1.7 per cent to 6,263.34.

France Telecom reversed its early gains, tied to better- than-expected first-quarter sales, and closed down A7.50 at A144.50. It has now fallen 12 per cent in the last two sessions on fears of lower per-subscriber valuations for telecoms prompted by the NTT DoCoMo-KPN deal.

Such fears also hit Bouygues, owner of France's third-biggest mobile phone operator, which tumbled A55 or 7.9 per cent to A640.

Among financials, bank BNP and insurer Axa both rose on strong first-quarter performances. BNP closed up 1.8 per cent at A91.40 and Axa 1.7 per cent at A152.60.

Amsterdam would have lost far more ground had it not been for a powerful run by Unilever which surged 7.2 per cent in heavy volume on healthier-than-expected first-quarter results.

The foods and detergents giant jumped to A52.65 before settling at A52.35, up A3.53 in 14.2 million shares traded.

Philips lost A1.40 at A45.75 as the opening slide for the Nasdaq sparked heavy selling. Weighed down by its failure to merge with Spain's Telefonica, KPN shed A5.75 to A105.55 for a two-day slide of 12 per cent.

The AEX index finished 5.96 lower at 657.50.

Milan erased morning gains to close easier, with the Mibtel index down 107 at 31,214.