Telekom retreat sends Frankfurt lower

A retreat by Deutsche Telekom on concerns over the potential costs of the company's latest takeover target sent Frankfurt lower.

At 5.30 p.m., the Xetra DAX index was down 43.77 at 7,027.05.

Deutsche Telekom lost €1.72 to €59.63 as the company declined to comment on reports that it was interested in buying US mobile phone company VoiceStream Wireless.

Eads picked up 95 cents or 5.5 per cent to €18.20 on its second day of trade as Merrill Lynch began coverage of the aerospace giant, rating the shares as intermediate and long-term neutral.

The big four banks were mixed as Lehman Brothers took an underweight stance. Deutsche Bank put on 21 cents to €91.72, HypoVereinsbank lost €1.21 to €69.25, Dresdner Bank edged 11 cents lower to €42.94 and Commerzbank slipped 60 cents to €38.40.

In the Neuer Markt, the day's two flotations received tepid welcomes. Software company Allgeier Computer was quoted at €21.20 after being issued at €22.50, the lower end of a €22.50-€24 issue price. IT company ArtStor traded at €13.45, up from an issue price of €12 but below the €14-€16.50 bookbuilding range.

Paris spent the day hovering around neutral as gains in some technology stocks were counterbalanced by falls in others. The CAC-40 index closed just 2.93 higher at 6,490.35.

France Telecom, which has the flotation of its Internet company Wanadoo coming up next week, was noticeably lower on a day when other telecom companies were up. France Telecom fell 2.25 per cent to €147.60, while Bouygues gained 2 per cent to €72.50 and Alcatel rose 3.4 per cent to €76.90.

Vivendi fell 3.1 per cent to €87.25 in the run-up to its flotation of its utility division Vivendi Environnement tomorrow. Vivendi has reduced the size of the offering from €3.5 billion to €3 billion, reflecting the downturn in market conditions.

However, the other flotation story, Eads, was less gloomy. It went back above the €18 offer price for private investors, closing at €18.20, having fallen to €17.50 on Monday.

Amsterdam closed higher, helped by heavyweight semiconductor stocks. Philips rose 1.5 per cent to €51.30 and ASM Lithography 0.5 per cent to €46.25. The AEX index gained 0.3 per cent to 680.60.