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Europe racks up losses
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March 21, 2001: 12:19 p.m. ET
London, Paris, Frankfurt indexes post triple-digit point losses, techs slump
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LONDON (CNN) - Europe's main market indexes racked up triple-digit point losses on Wednesday, with techs taking a pummelling after a disappointing U.S. rate cut.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 106.1 points, or 1.9 percent, to touch 5,540.7, with Internet data carrier Energis (EGS) and information, data and news firm Reuters (RTR) among the biggest percentage losers.
In Paris, the blue-chip CAC 40 shed 114.64 points, or 2.3 percent, to 5,023.76, led by information technology consultant Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (PCAP) and France Telecom (PFTE).
 Frankfurt's late trading Xetra Dax slid 136.20 points, or 2.4 percent, to 5,645.96, with electronic component maker Epcos (FEPC) and Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) leading the way lower.
Amsterdam's AEX index fell 2 percent, with Europe's biggest consumer electronics company Philips Electronics sliding 5.5 percent. Zurich's SMI slid 1.4 percent and Milan's MIB30 was down 1 percent.
The broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index, a basket of Europe's largest companies tumbled 1.6 percent, with the computer services and software component almost 5 percent lower and the information technology hardware sub-index down 4.2 percent.
Finland's Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone handset maker, fell 4.7 percent and Ericsson, which plans to farm out production of its mobile phone business after racking up huge losses, dropped 7.1 percent.
In U.S. trading at midday Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average slid more than 1 percent to 9,555.73 amid continuing disappointment that the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates by just half a percentage point to 5.0 percent, instead of a more aggressive three-quarters of a percentage point.
The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index nosed down 1 percent to 1,837.40.
"We're a bit like addicts, we want a good thing and we didn't get as much as we had hoped," Paul Horne, an economist at Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, told CNN. He said the markets were still expecting bad economic data and poor corporate earnings.
In the currency market, the euro weakened against the dollar to 89.79 U.S. cents compared with 90.98 cents in late New York trading a day earlier.
David Bloom, currency strategist at HSBC, told CNN, "European bonds would have been a safe haven for investors but the market disagrees and investors have gone to dollar markets."
"The general feeling is the European Central Bank has been slow to cut rates... and its too late to avoid a industrial recession," Bloom said.
Among the continent's stocks, COLT Telecom (CTM) shed 11.3 percent while British Telecom (BT-A) fell 5.4 percent. France Telecom (PFTE) dropped 8 percent.
Germany's Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) lost 4.6 percent after Moody's Investors Service said late Tuesday it was reviewing the company's long-term and short-term debt ratings for possible downgrades.
Energis (EGS), Britain's biggest Internet data carrier, dropped 12.9 percent after its one of its biggest shareholders, Swiss information technology company Distefora Holding, sold more than 17 million Energis shares. Energis said the disposal had broken an agreement to hold the shares until December 2001 and would seek legal advice. Distefora denied it broke any agreement.
Network equipment maker Alcatel (PCGE) fell 4 percent and British rival Marconi (MONI) dipped 2.8 percent.
 Software maker Logica (LOG) lost 10.1 percent, while Europe's largest software maker SAP (FSAP3) fell 3.9 percent in Frankfurt. French engineering software maker Dassault Systemes (PDSY) lost 7.4 percent.
Information technology consultant Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (PCAP) topped the loser board in Paris, sliding 8.9 percent, while UK computer services and software company CMG (CMG) lost 5.5 percent in London.
German chipmaker Infineon Technologies (FIFX) shed 3.4 percent, while Franco-Italian rival STMicroelectronics (PSTM) fell just 1 percent. Electronic component maker Epcos (FEPC) fell 7.4 percent in Frankfurt.
Financial data, news and information firm Reuters (RTR) fell more than 11 percent amid concerns a slowdown in the U.S. economy could hurt profits at big investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs (GS: Research, Estimates), which posted a 13 percent fall in first-quarter profit Tuesday. Goldman Sachs is a big client of Reuters information terminals.
Among the "old economy," engineering firm Alstom [PAR:P ] gained 5.4 percent after Le Figaro reported it had mandated bankers to sell off two units as part of a streamlining strategy.
France's Valeo (PFR) rose 0.5 percent after its chief executive quit amid board disagreements at Europe's largest auto parts maker.
French car maker Renault (PRNO) rose 2.7 percent after partner Nissan Motor unveiled organisational changes giving President Carlos Ghosn more clout over restructuring efforts. Former Renault executive Ghosn is the architect of the firm's aggressive revival plan.
German steel and engineering company Thyssen Krupp [FSE:F ] fell 5.5 percent. Italian automaker Fiat said it will sell the suspension and shock
absorber operations of its Magnetti Marelli auto parts unit to Thyssen for
 450 million. 
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