News that Italy's largest life insurer Alleanza had cut a key measure used in the calculation of margins on new business stunned investors and sent its shares tumbling.
By the close, Alleanza had lost 15.2 per cent at €12.30, its lowest level for 11 months. Volume soared to almost 80 million shares, more than 10 per cent of the company's ordinary capital, compared with a recent daily trade of about two million shares.
The insurer told analysts on Wednesday it had revised its calculation of margins on new business, bringing them down to 40 per cent from more than 70 per cent, under the company's previous model.
Dutch insurer Aegon came under pressure after the group posted lower than expected first-quarter earnings. The shares lost 7 per cent to €35.60, although the group reiterated that full-year net profit would rise by 10-15 per cent.
UBS took a 3.2 per cent tumble to SFr255 (€168), as Switzerland's largest bank denied a magazine report that it had suffered further losses in its e-business services.
The bank said it had already disclosed losses sustained by the business and had no plans to report more. For 2000, UBS reported a SFr321 million pre-tax loss from e-services, compared with a profit for the group of SFr7.8 billion.
Deutsche Bank rose more than 2 per cent after it beat expectations with a 77 per cent rise in net income for the first quarter, driven by a rise in trading income. But the share later succumbed to broad weakness among German blue chips and closed with a loss of 0.8 per cent at €89.50.
The results brought an upgrade for the stock from WestLB Panmure, which also downgraded HypoVereinsbank on the view that it had already achieved much of its share price potential. HypoVereinsbank slipped 0.4 per cent to €62.46.
Deutsche Post, still reeling from Wednesday's near 7 per cent setback on news that the German government planned to float a further tranche of stock, came in for negative broker comment.
