Disappointment with some of the day's corporate news sent Frankfurt lower even as Wall Street made concerted efforts to keep its head above water. The Xetra DAX index finished 59.43 lower at 4,645.89.
Deutsche Telekom lost 72 pfennigs to 45.28 deutschmarks in heavy trade after the company unveiled plans to cut telephone charges from January in an escalating price war. The former state-owned group said it planned to offset the reduction in revenues through an improvement in its competitive position and volume growth, as well as by developing other business activities.
Milan recovered from opening lows thanks to sharp gains in Telecom Italia, and the Mibtel index rose 113 or 0.6 per cent to 20,604. Telecom Italia gained 599 lire or 5 per cent to L12,415. The shares rallied on speculation that the ENI chief executive Mr Franco Bernabe could be appointed as the telecom group's chief executive, while a European Union ruling that the licence fees charged by the Italian government were too high also supported sentiment.
CIR, the holding company, rose L20 or 1.4 per cent to L1,485. Mr Carlo De Benedetti, a leading shareholder, commented that the company had plenty of liquidity for interesting investments.
Madrid drifted higher amid light trading and the general index rose 4.18 or 0.5 per cent to 793.98. Jitters over corporate results weighed on share prices. Acerinox lost 170 pesetas, or 5.4 per cent, to Pta3,010 on poor nine-month results. Iberdrola fell Pta35 to Pta2,360 ahead of the post-market ahead of next week's results.
Amsterdam drew back slightly as investors pulled away from stocks they perceived as being vulnerable to an economic downturn. The AEX index fell 13.63 or 1.3 per cent to 1,038.71 on a relatively quiet day of trading.
Akzo Nobel, the speciality chemicals group, fell 2.40 guilders or 3.5 per cent to Fl66.50, apparently on worries about the cyclicality of its earnings growth.
Aegon, the insurance group, slipped Fl1.5 or 0.8 per cent to Fl183 amid concerns that its third-quarter results, announced today, might fail to meet analysts' expectations.
Paris finished marginally higher as volumes picked up slightly. The CAC-40 index ended 15.49 or 0.4 per cent higher at 3,560.23. The total value of stock market trades was 12.2 billion francs, in line with the daily average for October.
Oil companies prospered as the US bolstered its forces in the Gulf, where it is preparing for a possible strike against Iraq. Elf Aquitaine rose Ffr15 or 2.2 per cent to Ffr690, while Total finished Ffr10 or 1.5 per cent higher at Ffr682.
