The global slowdown continued to effect the European telecoms equipment sector as the big Scandinavian manufacturers announced cost cuts.
Ericsson is to cut 3,300 jobs in Britain and Sweden and close two British mobile phone factories. It also said it would freeze hiring across the whole company and cut the number of its external consultants.
Ericsson's announcements were welcomed by investors, with the share price jumping almost 9 per cent to SKr67, its best level in more than two weeks.
Nokia also announced cuts, taking out 300 to 400 jobs from its networks unit in Finland where it produces high speed Internet broadband systems. It said tough competition in the US in particular had prompted the move. However, Nokia's shares closed almost 5 per cent lower at €29.40.
Deutsche Telekom jumped 7.5 per cent to €27.90, with traders saying that funds were buying the stock to balance their books before the end of the first quarter. France Telecom rose 5.7 per cent to €68.20 after an "outperform" rating from Lehman Brothers on Monday.
In media stocks, Dutch publishing group Wolters Kluwer, which specialises in financial, legal and tax publishing, soared 16.4 per cent after reporting better than expected profits for 2000. Performance in the US, which accounts for more than 40 per cent of sales, was particularly strong. The shares closed up €3.83 at €27.24.
But German multimedia agency Pixelpark, which designs and maintains corporate websites, fell to record lows after it posted a drop in sales for 2000 and said first quarter results would be lower than previous expectations.
The share price fell as low as €6.08 before recovering to just 1 per cent down at €7.20 in late trading on the Neuer Markt.
Italian insurer Generali rose 2.3 per cent to €35.45 following annual results released after the market close on Monday. Net profit was up 74 per cent thanks to strong premium growth and a one-time gain from the sale of a stake in Spanish bank BSCH.
