European bourses were littered with casualties, ranging from car manufacturers to financial services companies, partly because of geopolitical concerns but also as a result of specific bearish company news.

Frankfurt DAX: 2,571.25 (-55.75); Paris CAC: 2,770.62 (-71.22)

France's Renault was said to have provoked the general slide in auto manufacturers, its shares retreating 6.5 per cent to €38.95 following a depressing message to the market about faltering European car sales. The company's full-year results were described by WestLB Panmure as "slightly below our expectations but still in line with broader consensus".

Among other car stocks, PSA Peugeot Citroen lost more than 2.5 per cent to €37.70 after its 2002 numbers disappointed. Germany's Volkswagen, due to report full-year earnings next week, fell 3.7 per cent to €36.14

The turbulence in European insurance stocks this week continued, with AXA dipping 3.6 per cent, to €10.72, in the wake of news that Standard & Poor's, the credit-rating agency, had cut its senior debt and counterparty credit ratings, noting the company's lower earnings growth.

MLP, the German financial services group that has had to confront long-running criticism about its accounting practices, saw its shares tumble more than 9 per cent to €7.71, after a shock fourth-quarter pre-tax loss of €175.3 million, compared with market expectations of a small increase in earnings. This outweighed any relief rally from news that it will remain in the Dax index.

Shares in Thomson, the world's fourth-largest consumer electronics maker, dropped sharply after it reported annual profits below its target, mainly because of the weakening of the dollar. The French company, which generates 65 per cent of its revenue in the US, said full-year operating profits rose 13 per cent to €718m.

This was in line with consensus estimates, but well off its own target of 20 per cent growth.