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European techs slump
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February 28, 2001: 12:30 p.m. ET
Chipmaker to telecom shares slide in wake of Nasdaq's losses
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LONDON (CNN) - Europe's main markets finished lower on Wednesday as techs and telecoms tumbled in step with their counterparts on the U.S. Nasdaq market.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slipped 0.4 percent to 5,917.9, with COLT Telecom (CTM) and network equipment maker Spirent (SPT) posting steep losses.
 In Paris, the CAC 40 blue-chip index shed 1.3 percent to close at 5,367.48, as engineering software maker Dassault Systemes (PDSY) and chipmaker STMicroelectronics (PSTM) tumbled.
Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was down 0.1 percent at 6,215.32 in late trade, led by chipmaker Infineon Technologies (FIFX) and forklift maker Linde (FLIN).
The SMI in Zurich rose 0.3 percent and Milan's MIB 30 index and Amsterdam's AEX index were little changed.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was down 0.3 percent, with the technology manufacturing sub-index off 2.2 percent. Swedish mobile-phone maker Ericsson shed 3.5 percent.
In the currency market, the euro nosed up to 92.07 U.S. cents, from 91.75 cents in late U.S. trading on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.2 percent and the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was 1.1 percent lower by midday amid disappointment that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan did not give a weak enough view of the U.S. economy to signal an imminent interest rate cut.
European technology hardware stocks were the hardest hit. German electronic component maker Epcos (FEPC) shed 3.4 percent, British network equipment maker Marconi (MONI) fell 6.5 percent and French rival Alcatel (PCGE) fell 3.9 percent..
Spirent (SPT) plunged 8 percent despite a 40 percent rise in pretax 2000 profit at the upper end of analysts' forecasts at £125 million ($180 million).
 UK chip designer ARM Holdings (ARM) tumbled 6.1 percent, Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics (PSTM) plunged 8.2 percent and German rival Infineon (FIFX) dropped 4.7 percent.
In the software sector, France's Dassault Systemes (PDSY) retreated 8.1 percent and U.K. accounting software maker Sage (SGE) fell 5.2 percent.
Preference shares of SAP (FSAP3) added 0.6 percent after Europe's largest software maker unveiled plans to convert them into ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis.
Telecom stocks were also in the dumps. Among the former monopoly operators, British Telecommunications (BT-A) shed 4.8 percent and Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) trickled down 2.2 percent.
Business service operator COLT Telecom (CTM) fell 7.2 percent.
FTSE 100 heavyweight Vodafone Group (VOD) 2.3 percent after the world's largest mobile phone operator agreed to sell its stake in France Telecom (PFTE) for $10.7 billion. France Telecom dropped 6.6 percent
Elsewhere German forklift-to-industrial gas firm Linde (FLIN) fell 4.6 percent after reporting 2000 pretax profit towards the lower end of expectations at  481 million, up 15 percent from the year earlier.
Sporting goods manufacturer adidas-Salomon (FADS) shed 2.2 percent after U.S. peer Nike cut its profit forecast.
The spotlight shifted to London's banking sector after Lloyds TSB (LLOY) takeover target Abbey National (ANL) said it had ended merger talks with Bank of Scotland (BSCT). Abbey ended up 3.4 percent, Lloyds gained 1.2 percent and Bank of Scotland finished 2.3 percent higher.
 British American Tobacco (BATS), the world's second largest tobacco firm, rose 3.3 percent after reporting an 11 percent rise in profits for 2000, powered by volume growth of top global brands such as Lucky Strike and savings from the mid-1999 acquisition of Rothmans.
Also on the earnings plate, Anglo-Dutch consumer products company Reckitt Benckiser (RB-) tacked on 5.2 percent after the seller of Mr. Sheen polish, Finish dishwasher products and Lysol disinfectant reported a 38 percent leap in annual net income driven by a strong fourth quarter.
Hilton Group (HG-), which operates Hilton hotels outside of the U.S., rose 3.2 percent. The company, which also owns the Ladbroke betting chain, had fallen a day earlier on concerns about a one-week ban on horse racing amid the foot and mouth disease crisis in Britain.
UK gas provider Lattice (LAT) fell 7.1 percent in London after British energy regulators announced a tougher than expected plan for the prices gas monopoly Transco, owned by Lattice, can charge users of its pipeline network.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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