A severe shakeout for oil giant Total plus a further round of widespread profit-taking sent Paris steeply lower and left the CAC-40 index off 155.0 at 3,688.34 for a two-session setback of 6.5 per cent.
Total crashed 12.3 per cent in heavy volume after the group confirmed that it was taking a 41 per cent stake in Petrofina and planned to put in a bid for the rest of the Belgian oil leader.
With analysts arguing that Total was effectively paying too high a price, and amid concern the deal would not be earnings positive until 2001, the shares ended off 87 francs at Ffr618 in turnover of Ffr3.1 billion.
In Brussels, though, Petrofina showed a dazzling turn of speed in an otherwise depleted market. It surged 2,625 Belgian francs to Bfr16,875 in solid volumes.
RhonePoulenc fell Ffr20.10 to Ffr263.4 as investors showed their disappointment at the news that the group's merger with Hoechst of Germany will not take place in full for two or three years.
Hoechst dropped 4.25 deutschmarks to DM68.25 in Frankfurt as the Xetra DAX crumpled 5 per cent, hit by profit-taking, dollar weakness and Wall Street's early tumble. The index fell 248.96 to 4,777.18.
Bar stocks were hurt by dollar weakness and banks did not escape the pressure.
Amsterdam fell steeply in heavy volume with the AEX index ending off 51.88 at 1,048.73. Financials did most of the damage, running into heavy profit-taking. ABN-Amro fell 2.90 guilders to Fl36.50. Aegon shed Fl12.10 at Fl192.50 and ING came off Fl7.60 at Fl101.90.
Milan shares dropped sharply across the board late in the session, mirroring the decline on other European bourses and Wall Street.
