There were sharp falls in Paris among tech stocks as sector-specific concerns ran through the market but the benchmark index closed little changed as gains in motor industry shares helped balance out the equation. The CAC 40 index finished 8.76 off at 6,311.03.
Rumours that the big US mobile phone maker Motorola may miss its third quarter targets unsettled telecom-related shares. Alcatel was the biggest victim, falling 6.2 per cent to €75.35, while Bouygues was down 2.6 per cent at €57.
These losses were balanced by motor industry gains. Renault was 5.9 per cent higher at €49.50 after its Japanese partner Nissan said it would raise earnings forecasts for the full year. Car parts supplier Valeo also rose to 49.50, a gain of 4.7 per cent, on takeover speculation. Michelin closed 3.2 per cent higher at €31.74.
Frankfurt handed back all and more of Wednesday's gains with leading stocks pushing steadily lower. A shakeout for DaimlerChrysler and weak technology shares caused most of the distress. Siemens lost €5.75 at €148.70, SAP €1.13 at €279.67 and Deutsche Telekom 48 cents at €39.18. DaimlerChrysler ran into profit-taking after the previous session's 3.4 per cent rise, slipping to fresh 12-month lows after earnings
But news from the Paris Motor Show mostly underpinned motor shares. Volkswagen and BMW gained following upbeat statements. The former rose 39 cents to €50.24 and BMW 80 cents at €37.45.
Amsterdam saw robust trading in telecoms leader KPN which came off 84 cents at €24.29 in an unhappy session for technology stocks. Philips fell €1.01 to €48.39.
Zurich edged lower and the SMI index finished 8.5 easier at 7,933.9. In pharmaceuticals, Roche Certificates rose SFr170 to SFr15,455 (€10,121) on confirmation the group was to sell up to five million shares of Laboratory Corp of America, reducing its stake to about 30 per cent.
Helsinki Fell with rumours of a Nokia downgrade sending its shares 3.5 per cent lower at €45.18, its weakest since early August. Sonera fell 5 per cent to €29.20, an 11-month low.
