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Europe lower after see-saw session
LONDON, England (CNN) -- European markets ended mostly lower on Monday after a see-saw session that saw gains in financial stocks overshadowed by declines in the tobacco and auto sectors. London's FTSE 100 lost 1.3 percent to 4,122.2 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris slid 0.3 percent to 3,303.68, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was down 0.5 percent to 3,303.99 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 0.7 percent. The tobacco and automobile sub-indices were among the main decliners. The markets got off to a positive start after BNP Paribas, the euro zone's biggest bank by market value, said it had bought the French government's 10.9 percent stake in Credit Lyonnais for 2.2 billion euros ($2.2 billion). (Full story) Credit Lyonnais (PCL), France's second-largest bank, soared 20.5 percent to 46.92 euros, while BNP Paribas PAR:PBNP] fell 7.6 percent to 41.70 euros as investors questioned the nearly 50 percent premium it paid for the Credit Lyonnais stock. However, other French banks and institutions benefited from the news. Societies General (PIGLET) rose 4.2 percent to 57.65 euros and insurer AGF (PAGF) added 0.4 percent to 36.03 euros -- off its session highs. Credit Agricole (PACA), which has said it would be interested in merging with Lyonnais, lost 3.6 percent to 17.40 euros after notching up early gains on Monday following the BNP announcement. "This deal will have huge implications for consolidation in the French banking sector," a banking analysts told Reuters. "BNP Paribas may launch a full takeover bid at a later date..." Meanwhile, Vivendi Universal (PEX), Europe's largest media company, added 4.4 percent to 14.80 euros after it sold half of its stake in utility Vivendi Environnement to raise a much-needed 1.85 billion euros to help trim its debt pile to around 14 billion euros by the year end. (Full story) Vivendi Environnement (PVIE), Europe's biggest water company, lost 1.7 percent to 24.58 euros after gaining on the news in early trading. In the telecoms sector, France Telecom (PFTE) rose 6.2 percent to 16.35 euros after it denied a media report that its was considering selling its 28.5 percent holding in German mobile phone operator MobilCom. German phone company Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) was up 0.2 percent to 12.10 euros in late Frankfurt trading. The company said state prosecutors had launched an investigation over severance payments made to its former chief executive Ron Sommer. (Full story) Among the top losers in Frankfurt was utility group E.ON (FEOA), which was down 2.8 percent to 42.61 euros in late trading, ahead of a meeting of European Union energy ministers which will look at proposals to separate energy transmission operations from production activities among EU utilities. Germany carmaker BMW (FBMW) was down 2.1 percent to 32.54 euros in late trading after it denied a suggestion by Goldman Sachs that it might join forces with France's Peugeot-Citroen to build new Mini components, extending an agreement for the joint production of petrol engines. Peugot (PUG) shares lost 1.6 percent to 45.60 euros in Paris. DaimlerChrysler (FDCX) was down 1.7 percent to 34.90 euros and Volkswagen (FVOW) was off 1 percent to 39.30 euros in late trading in Frankfurt. The London market was led lower by insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA), which lost 6.2 percent to 132.25 pence after Schroder Salomon Smith Barney cut its target for the stock to 100 pence because of concerns for the group's ability to improve it balance sheet. Britain's Imperial Tobacco (IMT), the world's fourth-biggest tobacco firm, fell 1.3 percent to 959 pence after saying annual income rose 26 percent, boosted by the acquisition of Germany's Reemtsma this year. Analysts said the stock declined as investors took profits following a recent rally. (Full story) The AEX index in Amsterdam was up 0.3 percent and Milan's MIB30 index gained 0.2 percent, while the SMI in Zurich slipped 0.2 percent. In the U.S. on Monday, stocks edged slightly higher in early trading as investors bought shares of chipmakers and networkers at the start of a shortened trading week, with the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday. At 1515 GMT, the Nasdaq composite was up 13.57 points to 1482.31, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 52.31 points to 8857.15 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.46 points to 935.01.
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