An attack of nerves among old economy stocks sent Frankfurt lower in a session of improving trading volumes.
A fresh wave of oil price concerns hit chemicals. BASF lost 99 cents at €40.29 and Bayer came off €1.32 at €42.24. Elsewhere among market heavyweights, DaimlerChrysler lost €1.05 at €52.95. Truckmaker MAN shed €1.09 at €30 and steel leader Thyssen Krupp, unsettled by Monday's profits warning from US metals giant Alcoa, came off 66 cents at €15.69.
RWE tumbled 3.9 per cent or €1.60 to €39.50 after the group confirmed it was in talks with Thames Water, the UK utility, in advanced negotiations for a $5.8 billion takeover bid. The weakness of the euro continued to unsettle financials. Deutsche Bank shed €1.05 at €95.40 and Commerzbank 51 cents at €31.91. Insurer Allianz lost €4.89 at €364.01.
The Xetra DAX index was down 112.11 lower at 6,825.63 at 5.30 p.m. German time.
Paris ended sharply lower as the Nasdaq failed to provide any support for tech stocks. But losses were felt in all sectors as the oil price continued to rise, the euro kept falling and Germany's Ifo index raised growth concerns. The slide on the CAC 40 accelerated in the afternoon, with the index ending 1.9 per cent down at 6,405.43, its lowest close since August 3rd.
There were 34 declining stocks against six risers. The biggest casualty was hotels group Accor, which lost 5.6 per cent to €42.03. It was the second day of sharp decline following its talks to buy the Posthouse and Le Meridien chains from Granada Compass of the UK.
Investors feared the purchase may require a capital increase which would erode the value of the stock. All tech, media and telecom sectors were down.
Telecom and construction group Bouygues, which rose in morning trading, ended 4.5 per cent lower at €62.55, France Telecom lost 4 per cent to €120.50, Alcatel fell 3 per cent to €83.50 and Canal Plus lost 2.8 per cent to €170.80.
