Europe knocked lower by Wall St

German trader passes time at Frankfurt Stock Exchange as many other European markets were closed for a holiday

LONDON, England (CNN) -- European markets ended lower on Monday in thin holiday trading as initial gains supported by better-than-expected British Airways results were eroded by a weak performance on Wall Street.

London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent to 5,209 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris fell 1 percent to 4,400.75, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was down 0.8 percent to 4,997.01 in late trading (the German market was set to close at 1900 GMT).

The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was down 0.5 percent. The computer, information technology and media sub-indices were among the biggest decliners.

Most markets in Continental Europe were closed for a public holiday. Trading was also light because of technical glitches at the pan-European exchange Euronext, which caused the suspension of dealing in Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels for almost two hours.

In the tech sector, German chipmaker Infineon (FIFX) was down 3.8 percent -- making it the biggest decliner in late trading in Frankfurt, while UK chip designer ARM Holdings (ARM) was the biggest loser in London, falling 4 percent. Cap Gemini (PCAP), Europe's business computer services company, lost 2.3 percent in Paris.

Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, lost 0.9 percent in Helsinki. France Telecom (FTE) fell 3.1 percent in Paris, while Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) was down 0.5 percent in late Frankfurt trading.

The media sector was led lower by Vivendi Universal (PEX), Europe's biggest media company, which was the top decliner in Paris, falling 3.3 percent. The French group has been under pressure after cancelling plans to merge its loss-making Italian pay-TV unit Telepiu with Italian rival Stream after Italian authorities attached conditions to the deal.

Among the bright spots on Monday were British Airways (BAY), Europe's biggest airline. Its shares gained 0.9 percent -- although off its session highs -- after posting a pretax loss of £200 million ($292 million) in the year to March 31, which was less than analysts had forecast. (more)

"BA numbers seem better than expected. They seem to be cutting costs quite successfully and it gives the stock a short term fillip, but we prefer Air France and Lufthansa because we fell BA is more vulnerable to transatlantic traffic and low cost competition," David Thwaites, European strategist at BNP Paribas, told Reuters.

German cosmetics firm Beiersdorf (FBEI) was up 7 percent after a report said France's L'Oreal was planning a 13 billion euro ($12 billion) bid for the company. L'Oreal (POR) lost 1.1 percent. (more)

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Ireland's Elan (ELA) gained 1 percent -- well off its highs for the session -- after a report said it was considering a major share buyback programme and restructuring measures after recent troubles that have hammered the stock. (more)

UK alternative telecom carrier COLT (CTM) jumped 11 percent after the Independent on Sunday said rival BT Group (BT-) was considering a £1 billion bid for the group. BT shares gained 0. 4 percent. (more)

In the U.S. on Monday, Wall Street slumped after a closely-watched gauge of future economic activity fell in April. It was the first drop since last September, reinforcing the notion that the economy's recovery from recession could be sluggish.

At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 122 points, or 1.8 percent, to 10,230, while the Nasdaq Composite index was off 39 points, or 2.3 percent, to 1,701.