March 9, 2006	Thursday	Safar 8, 1427

LONDON, March 8: European stock markets sank on Wednesday despite a batch of solid earnings, with London shares hit by several companies trading ex-dividend. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares sank 1.07 per cent to 5,794.60 points in early afternoon deals, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 fell 1.05 per cent to 5,679.22, and in Paris the CAC 40 slipped 0.98 per cent to 4,943.20 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares shed 0.92 per cent to 3,710.87 points.

The euro stood at 1.1922 dollars.

US shares had closed mixed Tuesday as a disappointing outlook from Texas Instruments hurt the tech sector and investors remained skittish about interest rates despite a modest bond market recovery.

Japanese share prices finished lower on Wednesday with investors unwilling to make bets ahead of a decision by the Bank of Japan on whether to end its ultra-loose monetary policy, dealers said

In Paris trading, Credit Agricole was hit by profit-taking as its shares lost 1.37 per cent to 30.28 euros.

That was despite news that the French banking giant saw a 55.6-per cent rise in net profit during 2005 to 3.891 billion euros ($4.646 billion).

Meanwhile, European aerospace and defence group EADS, the parent group of European aircraft maker Airbus, said that net profit in 2005 had soared by 39 per cent to 1.68 billion euros.

However, that was not enough to prevent its share price shedding 1.32 per cent to 31.3 euros.

Over in Zurich, Swisscom shares dipped 0.18 per cent to 409.5 Swiss francs.

Switzerland’s largest telecoms operator saw 2005 net profits increase by 27 per cent to 2.02 billion Swiss francs (1.30 billion euros, $1.55 billion).

The Swiss Market Index, on which it is listed, meanwhile receded 0.82 per cent to 7,799.46 points.

Shares in several big British companies went ex-dividend on Wednesday, meaning that the stock no longer carries the right to the most recently declared dividend.

As a consequence, mining giant Anglo American sank 5.85 per cent to 1,930 pence, Royal Bank of Scotland lost 3.25 per cent to 1,843 pence and insurance group Aviva shed 3.0 per cent to 793.5 pence.

However, ITV shares added 1.81 per cent to 112.75 pence as it posted a 58-per cent surge in 2005 net profits to 226 million pounds.

In the US stock market on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a gain of 0.20 per cent to 10,980.69 while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 0.77 per cent to 2,268.38 points.

The broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index drifted down 0.19 per cent to 1,275.88 points.

Analysts said sentiment remained negative in the wake of a sell-off on Monday in response to a Treasury market rout which sent the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to its highest level since June 2004.—AFP