Steel conglomerate Thyssen Krupp fell heavily amid speculation that today's board meeting would end in disarray and that long-awaited management streamlining would be sent back to the drawing board. The rumours surfaced as a result of leaks to the German press and were enough to send the shares down more than 10 per cent at one stage. The stock was 6.9 per cent lower at #18.59 in late trading.

With the Nasdaq at new lows and more corporate gloom from the US, Europe's technology sector saw lots of sharp share price falls.

The chip sector was hit by a 5 per cent drop on the Philadelphia Semiconductor index and revenue warnings from US circuit maker Elantec Semiconductor and chip-maker Altera. The poor growth picture from computer company Gateway and networking equipment maker 3Com added to the gloom.

ASM Lithography, the Dutch-based manufacturer of chip-making equipment, fell 7.25 per cent to #21.99, STMicroelectronics fell 6.4 per cent to #32 and Infineon fell 3.1 per cent to #34.90. The falls spread to technology-related companies such as computer consultancy Cap Gemini, down 6.8 per cent to #177.50, and software company SAP, which fell 4.2 per cent to #163.87.

In telecoms, price falls averaged 2.5 per cent, with France Telecom down 3.5 per cent and Sonera down 7.5 per cent. Orange fell 5.6 per cent to #8.14.

Dutch brewer Heineken eased 0.4 per cent to 59.80 in a weak Amsterdam market in spite of a better-than-expected rise in 2000 net profits and news of a share split. Financial group ING came under pressure as it unveiled a 25 per cent increase in operational net profit and proposed a share split. But the group disappointed investors by fighting shy of giving a precise 2001 outlook because of the uncertain economic climate. The shares picked up late in the session to close 0.2 per cent higher at 75.17.