A warning from Akzo Nobel that it expected to fall short of its €1 billion net profits goal for this year left the Dutch chemicals group initially reeling and the European sector looking shaky.

Akzo's shares fell more than 7 per cent in immediate response to its announcement but clawed back some of the losses to close 2.1 per cent lower on the day at €47.95.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Schering came under pressure as news of first-quarter operating profits, broadly in line with expectations, was marred by a warning that marketing costs for new product launches would cap profits for this year.

The German group dropped to a low of €54.40 before recovering to close flat at €55.90.

Aventis climbed 2 per cent to €84 amid reports, yet to be confirmed, that it was to sell its animal nutrition arm to CVC Capital Partners. The sale represents part of the group's strategy to sharpen its focus on the pharmaceuticals business.

Telecoms were mostly lower with France Telecom down 1.2 per cent to €78.55 and Deutsche Telekom off 1.4 per cent at €28.80. NTT DoCoMo's postponement of its third-generation mobile services continued to weigh on the sector, which was also hit by news from Vodafone that its customers were spending less on mobile phone calls.

Finland's Sonera outperformed the European telecoms sector, rising 4 per cent to €10.40, after announcing a quarterly profit of €245 million, above the estimate of some analysts.

First-quarter results from Sweden's Electrolux, the white goods maker, were in line with expectations. But the shares fell sharply after Michael Treschow, the chief executive, said he had become less certain of achieving an increase in operating income for the full year.

Profits after financial items fell to Skr1.5 billion from SKr1.9 billion in the same period last year. The shares initially lost 5 per cent, later closing 3.6 per cent down at SKr153.50.