Brokers' reaction to the long awaited results and US restructuring statement from DaimlerChrysler was muted and the stock struggled to hold its own in an otherwise upbeat Frankfurt market. Analysts came away from the company presentation grumbling at the lack of cost savings detail. The shares fell to €51.60 during the morning session but clawed back in later trading to finish off 39 cents at €52.22. Trading volumes were moderate.
BMW peeled off steeply amid competition worries after Ford took the wraps off its new, smaller Jaguar at the Geneva Motor Show. The stock fell 3.3 per cent to €37.90.
Technology and telecoms shares rallied. Many blue chips showed share price increases of 5 per cent or more. Ericsson rose almost 8 per cent to SKr84. Nokia, Alcatel and Siemens shed some of their morning gains but all gained more than 3 per cent. Sentiment was helped by speculation that US interest rates may be coming down again soon and perceptions that shares had been pushed down too far last week.
One of the sharpest risers was Dutch-based pan-European cable company UPC, which leapt 13.5 per cent to €11.80. Attention on Telekom Market attention focused on the travails of Deutsche Telekom, following growing speculation in the German press that Mr Ron Sommer, the chief executive, would be forced to quit. The shares, which have been slipping steadily in recent weeks and are now 75 per cent below last year's peak, bounced back up on the rumours. By late trading they were up almost 8 per cent at €26.50.
Some of the rise may also have been attributable to cable TV disposals announced on Friday. But the whole telecoms sector bounced yesterday. France Telecom rose 5 per cent to €67.25 and Sonera added 5.9 per cent to €11.91.
Germany's Deutsche Bank gained 1.3 per cent to €89 and Dresdner Bank put on 2.5 per cent to €44.85 as concerns eased over the fallout from the Turkish financial crisis.
