04/07/2003 13:27
European bourses were flat to weaker in mid-morning trade on Friday after Wall Street dipped overnight, with trading expected to be light as the US remains closed for the Independence Day holiday.
At 0900 GMT the FTSE Eurotop 300 was flat at 854 with Germany's Xetra DAX off 0.3 per cent at 3,231.5. France's CAC 40 index was 0.1 per cent weaker at 3,087.7 while in London, the FTSE 100 dipped 0.1 per cent to 4,028.3.
Wall Street ended weaker in shortened US trade on Thursday as an unexpectedly large jump in monthly jobless figures sent markets into the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.8 per cent while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9 per cent. In Asia, the Nikkei Average was also depressed by the US economic figures, closing 0.8 per cent lower.
In corporate news, shares in Soitec, the French specialist silicon supplier, resumed trade following an early morning suspension after it said late deliveries would hit first-quarter sales. The group said it expected first-quarter sales of €18m-€20m and sales of €35m-€45m due to dalays which it linked to fresh pressure in the semiconductor sector, leading its clients to be more cautious about their inventories. The stock was down 18.55 per cent.
Vivendi Universal was up 0.3 per cent despite an acquisition by Liberty Media, which raised concerns that the US group would complete its bid for the French company's entertainment assets.
Liberty Media announced overnight it had agreed to pay $7.9bn for Comcast Corp's 57.5 per cent stake in QVC, the home shopping channel. But analysts were optimistic about Liberty's ability to go ahead with its plans.
"We estimate that Liberty has over $15bn of resources, enough to complete the acquisition of QVC and VUE [Vivendi Universal Entertainment]," said Richard Billotti of Morgan Stanley.
Akzo Nobel, the Dutch pharmaceutical group, was 1.4 per cent weaker after it said that the US Food and Drug Administration was seeking more information on its fertility product Follistim-AQ Cartridge.
The FDA had informed the company its product was not approvable "at this time".
At 0900 GMT the FTSE Eurotop 300 was flat at 854 with Germany's Xetra DAX off 0.3 per cent at 3,231.5. France's CAC 40 index was 0.1 per cent weaker at 3,087.7 while in London, the FTSE 100 dipped 0.1 per cent to 4,028.3.
Wall Street ended weaker in shortened US trade on Thursday as an unexpectedly large jump in monthly jobless figures sent markets into the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.8 per cent while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9 per cent. In Asia, the Nikkei Average was also depressed by the US economic figures, closing 0.8 per cent lower.
In corporate news, shares in Soitec, the French specialist silicon supplier, resumed trade following an early morning suspension after it said late deliveries would hit first-quarter sales. The group said it expected first-quarter sales of €18m-€20m and sales of €35m-€45m due to dalays which it linked to fresh pressure in the semiconductor sector, leading its clients to be more cautious about their inventories. The stock was down 18.55 per cent.
Vivendi Universal was up 0.3 per cent despite an acquisition by Liberty Media, which raised concerns that the US group would complete its bid for the French company's entertainment assets.
Liberty Media announced overnight it had agreed to pay $7.9bn for Comcast Corp's 57.5 per cent stake in QVC, the home shopping channel. But analysts were optimistic about Liberty's ability to go ahead with its plans.
"We estimate that Liberty has over $15bn of resources, enough to complete the acquisition of QVC and VUE [Vivendi Universal Entertainment]," said Richard Billotti of Morgan Stanley.
Akzo Nobel, the Dutch pharmaceutical group, was 1.4 per cent weaker after it said that the US Food and Drug Administration was seeking more information on its fertility product Follistim-AQ Cartridge.
The FDA had informed the company its product was not approvable "at this time".
Related Articles
