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Strong euro hits Europe stocks
LONDON, England (CNN) -- European stocks suffered a gloomy session Monday with a strong euro denting big European firms exporting to dollar-denominated markets. The euro hit a four-year high against the dollar after U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said a cheap dollar would help U.S. exports. At 1055 GMT, the Frankfurt Xetra Dax was down 1.75 percent at 2,904.84 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris was down 0.55 percent at 2,951.43. In London, where the pound dominates, the losses were much smaller. The FTSE 100 was off 0.29 percent at 3,958.00. The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was down 0.75 percent. The strong euro meant falls for exporting companies. Siemens was down 3.2 percent, SAP fell 3.4 percent and BASF slid 2.2 percent. In corporate news, upmarket UK store group Selfridges said it was the subject of an agreed takeover bid, lifting its shares by 10 percent to 390 pence in early trading. (Full story) Leading Danish telecom service provider TDC said it would cut domestic staff by 10 percent as a weak Danish economy, fierce competition and tough regulation bite. The cost-cutting move sent its shares up 1.2 percent to 168 Danish crowns. UK advertising firm Cordiant Communications slumped by nearly a third after saying none of the preliminary approaches it had received were likely to result in an offer at the current share price. Some shares were buoyed by Friday's strong gains on Wall Street, where the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite rose more than two percent, helping to lift Nokia 2.8 percent to 14.9 euros in opening trade. The Eurotop 300 ended Friday down for the week amid doubts over the sustainability of the market's near 20 percent advance from its six-year lows in March. Equities and bonds have been making advances, a situation that cannot last, dealers said. "The agenda for the buyers in this battle are those who believe in the recovery of the economy (stock buyers) versus those who don't (buying bonds)," Tom Hougaard of spread betters City Index in London told Reuters. KPN reported its third-consecutive quarterly profit and raised some of its financial targets, thanks in large part to cost-cutting efforts. It shares rose 2.7 percent to six euros. German online broker DAB Bank said it expected to break even for the full year, sending its shares up 7.8 percent to 2.76 euros. Meanwhile, shares in Commerzbank rose 4.8 percent to 9.25 euros amid worries about a possible hostile takeover.
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