Stocks react to European debt contagion concerns

Eurostoxx 50: 2,693.53 (–15.61) Frankfurt DAX: 7,174.14 (–56.11) Paris CAC: 3,773.60 (–33.91):EUROPEAN STOCKS fell yesterday, dragging the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to the biggest three-day drop since March, amid growing concern that the region's government-debt crisis is spreading.

Italy’s benchmark FTSE MIB Index erased an earlier 4.8 per cent drop as UniCredit rebounded.

“We have two negative themes for the equity market, with on the one hand increasing tensions in Italy and Greece and on the other hand the earnings season giving signs of an economic slowdown,” said Christian Stocker, a Munich-based strategist at UniCredit.

“We remain cautious for the second half of the year and defensive in terms of sector allocation,” he said.

European finance chiefs cast about for a strategy to halt Greece’s debt spiral, reviving previously discarded ideas and sharpening a dispute with central bankers as the rot spread to Italy. Nine hours of talks yielded a statement in which the 17 euro governments pledged to flesh out a new master plan “shortly.”

Thomas Cook plummeted 28 per cent to a record low of 87.85p. The company said its underlying operating profit for the year ending in September may fall to £320 million from £362 million in 2010.

Infineon, Europe’s second biggest chipmaker, lost 3.6 per cent to €7.48.

ASML, Europe’s biggest semiconductor-gear maker, declined 3 per cent to €25.70 after Novellus, a maker of machinery used in semiconductor production, forecast third-quarter sales and profit that fell short of analysts’ estimates.

ARM, the UK designer of chips that power Apple’s iPhone, sank 4.9 per cent to 596.5p.

Temenos, a banking software provider, lost 1.4 per cent to 24.05 Swiss francs.

British Sky Broadcasting fell 3.3 per cent to 692p, the lowest in more than a year.

Stora Enso Oyj slid 2.1 per cent to €6.79 after Europe’s biggest paper maker said its second-quarter operating profit will be reduced by about €32 million in non-recurring items including restructuring measures.

UniCredit, Italy’s largest bank, rose 5.9 per cent to €1.22 after earlier plummeting 8 per cent.

Intesa Sanpaolo gained 3.3 per cent to €1.58, erasing a drop of 7.3 per cent. – (Bloomberg)