European bourses were pulled lower by shaky technology stocks as the Nasdaq opened lower again and more profit warnings rattled the sector, including one from Compaq and fears of another from Dell Computer.
In Germany, Siemens was down 3.4 per cent at €143.25, Epcos fell 3.6 per cent to €108.50, while in Austria the alternative telecoms provider CyberTron plummeted 24 per cent to €5.20.
A spate of brokers' downgrades eroded share prices further. Chipmakers were hit by a downgrade from Credit Suisse First Boston. It cut its share price targets on Infineon, STMicroelectronics and Philips and cut its rating on STMicro from `strong buy' to `buy`.
CSFB said recent newsflow pointed towards a slowdown in growth across the semiconductor sector. Infineon fell 2.6 per cent to €51.42, STMicro fell 3.9 per cent to €53.10 and Philips lost 5.2 per cent to €43.15.
Schroder Salomon Smith Barney saw a similar picture unfolding among chipmakers and cut its price target on the Dutch chip equipment maker ASM Lithography from 32 to 26. ASML, which has had a volatile time, fell 10.8 per cent to €27.46.
The brokerage said weakness in capital spending by semiconductor companies would continue through the first half of next year, so ASML would sell fewer chipmaking units. It cut its estimate for earnings per share for next year from €1.26 to €1.04 but kept the rating at "neutral, high risk".
German software company Brokat was another victim of a broker's share price target cut. Its shares fell 12 per cent to €34.10 after Lehmans cut the target from 101 to 45.
