Heavy falls for technology leaders in Frankfurt offset strong demand for insurance stocks and sent the main indices lower.

Deutsche Telekom lost 69 cents at €46.38 and Siemens €5.80 at €182.20, as early weakness for the Nasdaq added to a renewed round of profit-taking. Epcos shed €4.55 at €112.15 and Infineon €4.40 at €69.80.

Chemicals stocks were also under pressure following negative comment from a leading broker. BASF shed 42 cents at €43.35 and Bayer 42 cents at €46.50. Henkel came off €1.50 at €71.

Brushing aside weak bonds and another bad day for the euro, financials firmed with banks and insurance in demand. Deutsche Bank was the odd man out, slipping €1.84 to €96.41.

Paris fell back a little after its record setting run. The CAC-40 index slipped 0.9 per cent to 6,796.79.

The market focused on a handful of first-half results that generally confirmed the impression that French companies are performing well.

TotalFina/Elf rose 2 per cent to €181 after it reported a 165 per cent surge in profits, swelled by the oil price rise. Peugeot rose 1 per cent to €214 after better-than-expected net income and confirming its profit forecast of €1.9 billion for the full year.

BNP Paribas, France's largest bank by market cap, reported a 17 per cent increase in first-half net profit, beating analysts' forecasts. However, the bank warned of a weaker second half and shares shed early gains to close 0.2 per cent lower at €104.30.

Share prices of other banks were mixed. Credit Lyonnais was one of the worst performers in the CAC, falling 5.4 per cent to €44.45. But Societe Generale rose 1.5 per cent to €69.20.

Retailer Casino fell 3.7 per cent to €108.50 amid disappointment that its first half results held no surprises. France Telecom, which released results after the market closed, fell 0.6 per cent to €143.60. First half operating profit was €2.64 billion, at the upper end of forecasts.

Network services provider Equant was volatile, opening sharply lower then rising to finish 1 per cent higher at €52.20 following news that it is in takeover talks with Infonet of the US.

But the biggest winner of the day was kitchen equipment maker Moulinex, which rose 13.4 per cent to €5.08 after confirmation that its takeover by a subsidiary of Italy's El.Fi is on track.