European markets streamed lower, hit hard for the second time this week by investor concerns for rising interest rates. In a virtual rerun of Tuesday's upsets, the FTSE Eurobloc 100 index fell 2 per cent to 1,067.80. The FTSE Eurotop 100 index lost 2 per cent at 2,939.31 and the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index shed 1.8 per cent at 1,284.76.
Frankfurt fell heavily, finishing within six points off its low for the session after a slide for the Xetra DAX index of 127.20 to 5,189.92.
Market heavyweight Deutsche Telekom led the way down, falling #1.71 or 4.1 per cent to #40.40. Banks were also under pressure. Deut- sche Bank lost #1.69 at #63.18 and Commerzbank 90 cents at #34.17. Utilities, buoyed lately by confirmation of the Viag and Veba merger talks, were a prime target of the profit-takers. Viag, up 8 per cent in the preceding session, fell 37 cents to #21.05 and Veba #2.50 to #59.10. Rival utility RWE shed 26 cents at #41 in spite of widespread speculation that it too could shortly come up with an alliance deal.
Paris ended sharply lower despite strong performances from a handful of blue chips. The CAC-40 index finished 82.78 or 1.8 per cent down at 4,550.60. STMicroelectronics, the semiconductor maker, was the top gainer on the CAC as it rallied from Wednesday's 3 per cent decline. The shares climbed #2.30 or 3.8 per cent to #63 as analysts played down the negative impact of its planned 28.6 million share offer. Credit Commercial de France (CCF) prospered against the trend on speculation that one of its shareholders was about to launch a bid. CCF advanced #3 or 2.5 per cent to #125 as analysts speculated that either ING or KBC might be about to launch a takeover attempt.
Amsterdam fell 7.33 to 565.00 on the AEX index after renewed heavy selling of financials and a sharp dip at electronics giant Philips.
Zurich ended down 79.6 at 7,014.9 on the SMI index after drugs leader Novartis reversed early losses.
Madrid sank as investors searched in vain for refuges from gloom about US monetary policy. The general index ended 16.08 or 1.8 per cent down at 871.89.
