Tech stocks suffer as rate fears stalk bourses

European markets continued to fret about the global trend of interest rates and the FTSE Eurobloc 100 index fell a further 1 …

European markets continued to fret about the global trend of interest rates and the FTSE Eurobloc 100 index fell a further 1 per cent to 1,073.62. The FTSE Eurotop 100 index came off 1 per cent at 2,949.63 and the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index lost a similar percentage at 1,290.77.

Frankfurt moved lower for the third day running with the Xetra Dax index losing 63.03 at 5,295.43. SAP tumbled to the bottom of the European performance charts following a warning from the software leader that sales were running substantially short of analysts' estimates. The share ended off €26.50 at €411 after a session low of €398.

Siemens suffered in the wake of the SAP warning. The shares, also hit by a report that the Transrapid rail link between Berlin and Hamburg was to be scrapped, fell €2.23 at €79.20.

Among more interest rate sensitive stocks, banks were weak. Commerzbank shed 50 cents at €34.80 and Dresdner Bank came off €1.30 at €45. Deutsche Bank eased 90 cents at €64.75.

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Paris lost ground in spite of an upbeat session for the heavyweight oils sector. The CAC-40 index lost 55.69 at 4,602.85. France Telecom weakened after rumours that the government was set to float a further tranche of the 62 per cent state-owned group sparked stock overhang concerns. The shares lost 95 cents at €82.60.

Oils remained firm, bolstered by rallying oil prices and a last minute flurry of arbitrage ahead of Friday's closure of TotalFina's bid for Elf Aquitaine. Total added €3.10 at €116.1 and Elf improved €1.90 at €156.5 in combined turnover of some €400 million. Motor giant Renault lost €1.35 at €50.90 and luxury goods leader LVMH shed €3 at €290.

Amsterdam continued to slip in moderate trading volumes with the AEX index losing a further 4.12 at 552.

Media shares remained active. Wolters Kluwer gained €1.10 to €31 amid persistent merger rumours and VNU added 84 cents at €34.34. But Elsevier fell back after the company denied plans for imminent corporate activity. Having touched a high for the session of €9.70, Elsevier ended 8 cents easier at €9.42. Among market heavyweights, Royal Dutch rose 79 cents to €55.14 but Philips, caught up in the broad sell-off for tech stocks, lost €2.80 at €92.10.