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Reuters
Weak Chemicals Hit Eurostocks
Friday July 25, 4:49 am ET
By Marius Bosch


LONDON (Reuters) - European blue chips weakened on Friday, hit by fresh Wall Street weakness and slumping chemical stocks after Dutch group DSM said it would not match last year's operating profits. French specialty chemicals maker Rhodia added to negative sector sentiment after it slipped into a second-quarter net loss and forecast a tough second half.
By 8:20 a.m. GMT, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index was 0.44 percent down at 865 points, while the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index slipped 0.69 percent to 2,464 points.

"People are digesting all the earnings results and these are the kind of jitters you have going into earnings season," said a London-based equity sales trader.

Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index was 0.38 percent weaker, France's CAC 40 fell 0.69 percent and the Swiss SMI slipped 0.17 percent. In Frankfurt, the DAX was 0.28 percent down.

VW, RENAULT

Auto stocks remained in focus after Europe's biggest automaker Volkswagen said its core profits had fallen by more than half in the second quarter.

Volkswagen shares rose 2.09 percent with traders and analysts said investors had been expecting worse earnings numbers while a slightly positive outlook added further support.

"Volkswagen has been beaten very low recently and people were expecting something awful and the figures weren't stunningly good but solid enough to give relief to the shares," said market analyst Christian Scmidt at Helaba in Frankfurt.

VW has said its operating profit will not match 2002's 4.76 billion euros this year, although it has also said that earnings should improve quarter by quarter as its recently-launched Touran, Touareg and forthcoming Golf V models buoy unit sales.

Shares in French carmaker Renault gained 2.79 percent after the group posted a slide in first-half core profits amid shaky western European demand, limited availability of new models and a strong euro, causing it to nudge down a key margin target for the full-year.

But net profit jumped 32 percent thanks to a generous contribution from its Japanese partner Nissan and Chairman Louis Schweitzer forecast another record year at the net level in 2003.

DSM WEAK, ROCHE FALLS

Shares in DSM fell as much as 7.16 percent, its biggest one-day decline since September 2001, after the firm said it was unlikely it would match its 2002 operating income in 2003 and that third-quarter operating income would be significantly lower in the second quarter.

In Zurich, shares in Roche fell 0.67 percent after the Swiss firm said it had agreed to buy U.S. diagnostics company Igen International Inc. for $1.4 billion.

"Roche is down because some people are thinking they may be paying too much," said a second trader.

In London, shares in British mortgage bank Alliance & Leicester jumped 3.6 percent after posting a hike in first half profits.

And London-listed shares of mining giant Anglo American rose 1.76 percent higher after world number one diamond group De Beers -- 45 percent-owned by Anglo -- reported a forecast-beating 2.75 percent increase in first half sales.

Investors will be waiting for the release of fresh U.S. macroeconomic data Friday, including the U.S. Commerce Department release of durable goods data for June at 12:30 p.m. GMT and single-family home sales for June at 2 p.m. GMT.