October 04, 2006	Wednesday	Ramazan 10, 1427

LONDON, Oct 3: European stock markets receded on Tuesday, with French car stocks and energy shares hit by broker downgrades and weak oil prices, dealers said.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares sank 0.82 per cent to 5,908.90 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.79 per cent to 5,951.89 points and in Paris, the CAC 40 index gave up 0.87 per cent to 5,197.45.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares lost 0.77 per cent in value to 3,862.33 points. The euro stood at 1.2750 dollars.

Wall Street shares reversed course on Monday to close lower amid mixed economic news and following earlier gains which had seen the Dow Jones index edge closer to an all-time record high.

Japanese share prices put on a lacklustre show Tuesday as investors took a breather after four days of gains fuelled by optimism about the economy, dealers said.

In Paris on Tuesday, Renault shares fell 2.12 per cent to 89.85 euros after the French auto giant was downgraded to 'neutral' from 'outperform' at broker Credit Suisse following “disastrous” September car sales data on Monday.

Shares in peer PSA Peugeot-Citroen -- down 2.09 per cent at 43.11 euros -- have also been downgraded to 'reduce' from 'neutral' by broker UBS.

However, across in Frankfurt, shares in Volkswagen revved 0.27 percent higher to 67.13 euros ahead of US auto sales data, and after the German carmaker raised its forecast for annual US sales growth.

Energy majors took a hit as oil prices continued falling, with London Brent crude sliding again below 60 dollars per barrel.

In London, British energy titan BP sank 2.15 per cent to 570 pence and Anglo-Dutch peer Royal Dutch Shell saw its 'B' shares lose 1.22 percent to 1,781 pence.

Back in Paris, French oil company Total fell 1.55 per cent to 50.75 euros.

Meanwhile, fresh from Monday's massive losses, gambling companies continued falling in London following last weekend's move to ban gambling on the Internet in the United States.

PartyGaming -- which had plunged by 58.66 per cent on Monday -- saw its stock slide 2.22 per cent lower to 44 pence on Tuesday.

The share price plunge could mean that the company -- which currently earns the majority of its revenues in the United States -- soon drops out of the FTSE 100.

Smaller online gaming group 888 Holdings lost 1.15 per cent to reach 107 pence, while London's second-tier FTSE 250, on which it trades, fell 0.67 per cent to 9,956.30 points.

British supermarket giant Tesco bucked the downwards trend, rising 0.62 per cent to 367.75 pence on the FTSE 100.

The country's biggest retailer said that net profits leapt 22.9 per cent to 788 million pounds (1.167 billion euros, 1.489 billion dollars) in the six months to August 26, compared with the same period a year earlier.

In US deals on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.07 per cent at 11,670.35 points.

Investors had been closely monitoring whether the benchmark index would finish above its record close of 11,722.98 points reached in January 2000, but afternoon declines lessened that likelihood Monday.

The tech-rich Nasdaq composite shed 0.92 per cent to 2,237.60 points while the Standard and Poor's 500 index lost 0.34 per cent to close at 1,331.32.

In Asia on Tuesday, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 0.08 per cent to 16,242.09 points.

Dealers said a rise in the value of the yen weighed on sentiment, while Sony shares had continued to slide on worries about massive battery recalls.

Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index closed up 0.36 per cent at 17,606.53 points as fresh fund inflows and late short-covering activity helped the market reverse morning losses, dealers said.—AFP