Trading in Frankfurt was again dominated by bid target Mannesmann and the banks where worries about Philipp Holzmann have lately sparked all sorts of bad debt scare stories. Mannesmann lost €6.20 at €180 as the euphoria built up in recent weeks ahead of the formal offer from Vodafone AirTouch continued to fade. The shares have fallen 17 per cent since hitting an all-time high on November 16th.
The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index eased 0.44 to 1,189.04. The FTSE Eurotop 100 advanced 17.74 to 3,287.82 while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 gained 8.09 to 1414.52.
Construction group Holzmann, which filed for insolvency, resumed trading and instantly sank to €23.10, down €103 or 81.7 per cent. Leading banks remained an uncertain market. Deutsche Bank, which has 15 per cent of Holzmann, recouped some of Monday's 3.7 per cent slide, adding €1.30 at €67.70. But Commerzbank continued to slide, losing 67 cents at €33.21 for a two-day decline of 6 per cent. The Xetra Dax index ended 5.15 lower at 5,814.74.
Amsterdam moved lower in spite of a rally for Unilever. The foods and detergents giant, which touched a low for the year on Friday, rose €2.45 or 4.6 per cent to €55.40. Retailer Ahold was also a strong market, gaining 77 cents to €29.95 following an upbeat third-quarter results report. Akzo Nobel, the chemicals leader, added 75 cents at €41.95.
Helsinki was buoyed by a late surge in Nokia and the Hex general index closed 243.75 higher at 10,593.99. Foreign demand fuelled a strong rise in Nokia, which gained €5.10 to €132.20.
Stonesoft made even more spectacular gains, rising almost 16 per cent or €3.90 to €28.40 on share-split plans and a positive outlook for the company in a consolidating data services market. Data Fellows however disappointed with a nine-month loss and a downbeat statement. Shares dived 9 per cent or €2.50 to €25.70.
Paris nudged up after Monday's bout of heavy profit-taking and the benchmark CAC-40 advanced 4.91 to 5,152.87. Cap Gemini, the computer company, was the biggest percentage gainer on the exchange, rising €8.10 or almost 5 per cent to €177.20. France Telecom was also very strong. It rose €2.30 to €110.40.
Madrid closed higher, aided by the continued rise in bourse-engine Telefonica. The general index rose 4.60 to 937.74.
