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Europe ends week in mixed mood
LONDON, England (CNN) -- European markets ended mixed on Friday, with a rise in oil and gas stocks countering losses in the tobacco sector after world leader Philips Morris issued a profit warning. London's FTSE 100, which soared more than 4 percent on Thursday, closed up 1.5 percent to 3,907.2 on Friday. The CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris, which jumped more than 6 percent in the previous session, ended 0.4 percent lower at 2,950.52, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was down 1.6 percent to 2,972.82 in late trading (the German market was set to close at 1800 GMT). The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was up 0.2 percent. The leisure, insurance and oil and gas sub-sectors led the gains, while tobacco, computer and information technology stocks were lower. After a strong rally in Europe on Thursday, investment managers stepped in to put some money into the market, while others sold off to take profits from the recent jump in prices. "After a bit of a recovery, the market is in a wait-and-see mode again. There is the usual window-dressing ahead of quarter-end," Lex Werkheim, a fund manager at Eureffect Asset Management, Reuters. Philip Morris said it expects three percent-to-five percent growth in 2002, when analysts had forecast 20 percent. It blamed sluggish sales and higher spending on promotion for the second profit warning this year. (Full story) Tobacco stocks in Europe slid on the news. British American Tobacco (BATS), the world's second-largest cigarette maker, lost 2.2 percent to 661.79 pence, while Imperial Tobacco (IMT) dipped 3.9 percent to 998 pence and Gallaher (GLH) fell 2.9 percent to 619.86 pence in London. European telecom equipment makers declined after SBC Communications (SBC), the second biggest U.S. local phone company, said it would cut 11,000 jobs and slash its spending plans on new networks. (Full story) Europe's biggest telecom equipment maker Alcatel (PCGE) slid 6.4 percent to 2.47 euros and German heavyweight Siemens (FSIE) was down 2.8 percent to 36.95 euros in late Frankfurt trading. Troubled German telecom group MobilCom (AMOB) soared more than 13 percent in earlier trading before settling down at 2.15 euros, up 2.4 percent, in late Frankfurt trading. On Friday, it said it was cutting one-third of its workforce as part a restructuring plan and freezing the rollout of its new generation mobile network. (Full story) MobilCom partner France Telecom (PFTE) 1.4 percent to 7.89 euros. Last month, France Telecom cut off vital funding to the group, pushing MobilCom to the brink of insolvency before getting temporary funding lifeline from the German government. The AEX index in Amsterdam slipped 1.3 percent, Milan's MIB30 lost 0.8 percent and the SMI in Zurich was up 0.2 percent.
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