European markets fell back yesterday as hopes for an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets later this month faded following the latest US employment figures.
Takeover speculation drove ailing Italian bank and asset manager Bipop Carire higher for a second consecutive day. The shares put on 1.9 cents to €3.59 adding to gains of 3 per cent on Thursday.
The market read chief executive Bruno Sonzogni's replacement by Maurizio Cozzolino - the announcement of which accompanied news of a 54 per cent plunge in first half net profit - as a signal of tensions between partners and investors of the bank. Mr Sonzogni is believed to oppose a sale of the new economy bank.
France Telecom fell steeply following a press report that the group planned a big bond issue. Debt concerns have been a big check on the telecommunications sector for most of this year. The shares came off 4.3 per cent at €50.75.
In the tech sector, German chipmaker Infineon extended a twosession decline amid signs that a recovery in the memory chip market was still some way off. Infineon fell 4.38 per cent to €28.40, hit by concerns about chip prices and after Bank of America slashed its earnings estimates for this year and 2002.
Belgian computer services provider Systemat soared 29.9 per cent to €10.85 after reporting better-than-expected first half sales. However, Delta Securities analyst Gert De Mesure, who upgraded the stock, said only a strategic move into providing more services would boost Systemat's long-term share price.
