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European late trading sheds gains
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- European shares shed their gains late on Monday as concerns that Dutch insurer Aegon may cut its dividend weighed on the market, while Wall Street also turned lower after mixed economic data. Italian insurer Generali continued its meteoric rise, gaining 4.7 percent to 24.4 euros. The stock is now up 37 percent during the past month as the battle to win the group heats up ahead of next month's shareholder meeting. Unicredito, an Italian bank that is building up a stake in Generali, fell 6.3 percent to 3.48 euros. By 1558 GMT, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index was 0.08 percent lower at 766 points after being up about one percent midsession. It hit a six-year low in the middle of last week. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index shed 0.28 percent to 2,134 points. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.1 percent to 7,884 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.37 percent to 1,332 points. New York began to lose steam as investors digested news that the influential Institute of Purchasing Management's index of manufacturing activity fell to 50.5 in February. The drop was much sharper than expected and left the index just above the reading of 50 which suggests manufacturing is expanding. The ISM blamed the threat of war in Iraq and higher energy prices for the slowdown. U.S. spending on new construction surged unexpectedly 1.7 percent in January to a record level. Shares in Aegon sank 5.2 percent to 9.4 euros with dealers blaming the worry that the insurer will cut its dividend when it reports a forecast slide in 2002 net profit on Thursday due to hefty provisions. Italian energy group ENI shed 3.7 percent to 13.2 euros after the Schroder Salomon Smith Barney investment bank cut its rating on the stock to "in-line" from "outperform." Deutsche Telekom eased 4.6 percent to 10.19 euros despite taking steps to reassure staff after a number of law firms last week renewed allegations of share fraud and opposition politicians joined the fray. British engineering firm GKN rose eight percent to 171.25 pence after posting a forecast-beating rise in 2002 earnings and saying there were no signs of a substantial fall in demand for the car parts it makes. Shares in retailer Ahold bounced, helped by a newspaper report that triggered speculation the company could be the target of a takeover. Ahold shares, which rose four percent to 3.65 euros, had lost 67 percent last week after it said earnings were overstated and an accounting probe had been launched. Shares in French utility Vivendi Environnement slid 7.4 percent to 16.30 euros. French broker Oddo Pinatton cut its rating on the sector to "underperform" ahead of Vivendi's earnings on Tuesday. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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