Frankfurt ended little changed on the day but up a net 3.7 per cent on the week thanks to a cheerier performance by technology leaders.
These were mostly subdued yesterday, although there was a flurry of excitement in the Neuer Markt where a sparkling debut by Lion Bioscience kept traders glued to their screens. Lion shares, floated at €44, pushed up to a first-day peak of €65.40 before closing at €61.90, a premium of 40 per cent. Trading volume topped one million shares.
Tech leaders were mixed. SAP put on €31.11 or 4.8 per cent at €270.90, but Siemens shed €5.35 at €163.05 and Infineon came off €1 at €70.80. Epcos lost €2.38 at €91.25.
Deutsche Telekom moved lower on the latest news from the current mobile phone licence auction in Germany which suggests that the bidding is running way ahead of government targets. Deutsche Telekom lost 35 cents at €48.307. Mobilcom, which fell steeply on Thursday following a disappointing earnings statement, stayed weak, losing a further 35 cents at €125.95.
Chemicals were mixed after Goldman Sachs stepped up its 2001 earnings forecast for Bayer. The stock added 99 cents at €45.66. But BASF shed 16 cents to €41.90. Financials were also unsettled. Allianz added €6.02 at €390.25 and Munich Re €6.50 at €342.50. Deutsche Bank shed 65 cents at €97.45.
Paris traded quietly with volumes showing signs of succumbing to the rigours of August. The CAC-40 index ended off 9.54 at 6,553. Technology stocks were among the more visible weak features with Cap Gemini sliding 6.50 to 187.5 and STMicroelectronics €1.85 to €61.10. Alcatel fell €2.20 to €78.15 and France Telecom gave up €7 at €137.40.
Amsterdam moved back into positive territory in late trading in spite of weak technology-related leaders. The AEX index edged 0.39 higher to 684.
Philips, tracking the early downturn for the Nasdaq, fell €1.29 to €47.96 and telecoms leader KPN lost 30 cents at €39, although volumes in each case were much lower than in recent sessions. Reports of technical problems associated with next month's planned launch of digital set-top boxes hit UPC. The shares fell €2.07 or 7.5 per cent at €25.38. BE Semiconductors gained 55 cents to €14.90 after Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of the stock with a target price of €25.
