European markets closed mostly lower, marking time after their healthy rises on Tuesday. The sharpest loser was Helsinki, succumbing, as usual, to a bout of weakness in Nokia. Copenhagen was a notable exception, rising 1.7 per cent, helped by domestic merger and acquisition activity. Information technology stocks were weak, with the sub-index losing 2.5 per cent on the day.
The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index, which covers leading companies in the euro zone, closed 3.68 or 0.3 per cent lower to 1,080.02. The FTSE Eurotop 100, covering countries inside and outside of monetary union slid 0.10 to 3,063.98 while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 settled 0.67 lower to 1,327.03.
Frankfurt edged lower, giving up 12.09 at 5,352.72 on the Xetra Dax index after a two-day gain of 177 points.
Motors were the main downside driver with Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler coming in for heavy selling after poor results.
The shares ended €4.40 or 6.2 per cent lower at €67.30 in heavy volume of 4.8 million shares traded. DaimlerChrysler slipped €1.45 to €94 and BMW lost €6.55 at €667.50.
Hair-care and cosmetics leader Wella rose €30.50 to €755.50 after an upbeat trading statement sparked positive broker comment. Insurers were well bought. Munich Re gained €4.90 at €191.40.
Paris weakened throughout the day, taking a pause after hitting a record high on Tuesday. The CAC-40 closed down but off its lows, shedding 16.22 to 4,374.70 despite a steady start on Wall Street.
Retail and consumer goods companies reacted positively to an unexpected increase in March consumer spending.
Lafarge and Peugeot tumbled after investors showed disappointment in their first-quarter sales figures. Lafarge was down €4.05 to €94.35. Peugeot fell €7.40 to €158.60.
Amsterdam ended 1.12 lower at 575.53 on the AEX index with steep falls for Philips offsetting strong gains at Aegon.
Milan was little changed as the market awaited developments in the Telecom-Olivetti and banking mergers. The Mibtel index finished 115 lower at 24,909. Telecom Italia gave up 0.8 per cent to €9.86 after the board rejected the Olivetti bid. The heavily traded Olivetti lost 2.6 per cent to €3.18. BCI put on 1.7 per cent to €7.63 after Banca Intesa indicated it was interested in the Milan bank. Intesa lost 1.8 per cent to €5.22.
Helsinki closed 2.2 per cent lower, hit by a 4.2 per cent fall in market heavyweight Nokia. Shares fell €3.10 to €71.40 as investors feared Nokia would struggle to maintain its strong first-quarter results. The Hex index followed suit, losing 149.82 to 6,793.92.
