European markets edge lower

LONDON, England (CNN) -- European markets ended lower on Thursday after an uncertain start on Wall Street dampened early enthusiasm over better-than-expected results from BT Group.

U.S. stocks were mixed for much of the morning before shrugging off weak reports on the labor market and housing sector, ahead of a highly-anticipated report from Dell Computer. (more)

London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent to 5,248.5 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris lost 0.1 percent to 4,466.36, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was down 0.2 percent to 5,063.64 in late trading (the German markets was set to close at 1900 GMT).

The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, lost 0.3 percent, with the information technology and computer sub-indices leading declines.

European markets received an initial boost from BT Group (BT-), Britain's dominant phone company. The company, which has been struggling with debt, said pretax profit came in at £1.27 billion, slightly ahead of analysts' expectations. (more) BT shares soared 9 percent to 275 pence.

Spain's Telefonica, Spain's biggest phone operator, added 1.4 percent despite announcing net income slid 72 percent to 121.1 million euros ($110 million) in the first three months of the year. The number was in line with expectations. (more)

BT's stronger-than-expected results provided other telecom operators with the momentum to extend recent gains. France Telecom (PFTE) closed up just 0.2 percent -- after notching big gains during the session -- extending its recovery from recent lows.

But troubled telecom equipment maker Marconi (MONI) dropped 17.6 percent to 7.4 pence after saying it may ask creditors to exchange debt for control of the company. Marconi's bankers and bondholders are owed £4 billion ($5.8 billion) and any swap could see shareholders owning little or nothing of the company. (more)

Outside the telecom sector, 3i (III), Europe's biggest technology fund, jumped 5.5 percent to 762 pence after the company agreed to sell low-cost airline Go-Fly to EasyJet for $525 million.

British low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) rose 10.9 percent to 503 pence after announcing the acquisition, which would make it Europe's biggest budget airlines.(more)

Societe Generale (PGLE), France's second-largest bank by market , fell 3.9 percent, after posting a larger-than-expected drop of 24 percent in first quarter net profit on a steep drop in investment banking income. (more)

French rival Credit Lyonnais (PCL) slid 3.4 percent and BNP Paribas (BNP) lost 1 percent.

In Amsterdam the AEX index fell 0.4 percent and Milan's MIB30 index was flat, while the SMI in Zurich was up 0.3 percent.