Wall St news fails to lift gloomy bourses

European markets mostly marked time as Wall Street failed to provide a lead. Afternoon trade in Europe reflected the subdued morning in New York, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back early gains, made after the release of encouraging jobs data.

The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index, which covers leading companies in the euro zone, closed 1.9 or 0.2 per cent lower at 1,066.51. The FTSE Eurotop 100, covering countries inside and outside of the zone, fell 18.07 or 0.6 per cent to 2,981.62, while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 settled 5.95 or 0.5 per cent lower at 1,295.74.

Paris suffered from more weakness in oil stocks, which have fallen victim to profit-taking this week. The CAC-40 index, which hit an all-time high earlier this week, closed 43.68 or 1.0 per cent lower at 4,289.56.

Among the oil majors, Total dropped €4.50 or 3.6 per cent to €120, while Elf-Aquitaine closed €5.40 or 3.7 per cent down at €140.50. The falls ended a turbulent week for the groups, down 7.4 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.

Madrid closed higher as Repsol put in another powerful performance. The general index ended 6.04 or 0.7 per cent up at 899.52. The oil group rose 40 cents or 2.2 per cent to €18.30. The stock has gained almost 25 per cent in six sessions since it emerged that it was making a $13.4 billion cash bid for YPF of Argentina.

Frankfurt was little changed by the close, with the Xetra DAX index just 0.93 firmer at 5,276.50, having recovered from a low of 5,235.52.

Cyclicals continued their strong run as investors sought out sectors that had under-performed the broad market. BASF put on 63 cents to €40.45, Hoechst added 81 cents to €41.71 and Bayer rose 83 cents to €39.01.

Speciality chemicals and metals group Degussa was the day's biggest winner, with a rise of €2.15 to €42.25. Utilities were led higher by a 10 rise in Viag to €469. Among financials, Deutsche Bank rose 84 cents to €55.29 on news that New York regulators had approved its $10.1 billion merger with Bankers Trust, after satisfying themselves that the German group had done enough to resolve lingering Holocaust issues.

Amsterdam rallied late to finish up on the day, buoyed by strong performances by several blue-chip companies. The AEX index closed 1.38 or 0.2 per cent higher at 565.94.

Milan kept Fiat at the centre of attention after a series of denials from senior executives about rumours of car-sector divestments or link-ups abroad that might include Ford or Scania. Fiat shares picked up from a low of €3.20 to close little changed on the day at €3.28. The Mibtel index finished 55 weaker at 24,855.