November 29, 2006	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 7, 1427

LONDON, Nov 28: European stocks steadied on Tuesday after sharp losses on Wall Street overnight, while utilities failed to spark even as Scottish Power accepted a multi-billion-dollar takeover bid by Spanish peer Iberdrola.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares edged up 0.08 per cent to 6,054.90 points in late morning deals, in Frankfurt the DAX 30 slipped 0.09 per cent to 6,292.52 points and the Paris CAC 40 dipped 0.05 per cent to 5,305.89 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue-chip shares edged up 0.07 per cent to 3,981.03 points. The euro stood at 1.3148 dollars.

European stock markets had fallen sharply Monday, almost 2.0 percent in Frankfurt, on fears that businesses will suffer from the euro's climb against the dollar and yen.

US stocks fell sharply Monday as investors fretted about the outlook for the critical Christmas retail sales period after Wal-Mart said it expected November sales to be lower than last year.

In Europe all eyes were on the power groups amid the sector's takeover news.

Scottish Power accepted a takeover bid worth 11.6 billion pounds (17.15 billion euros, 22.55 billion dollars) by Spain's second biggest power group Iberdrola, a move that is set to create Europe's third biggest utility giant.

The offer values each Scottish Power share at 777 pence, below the 800 pence hoped for by investors.

As a result Scottish Power saw its share price fall 0.47 per cent to 742.5 pence. In Madrid, Iberdrola shed 1.83 per cent to 32.15 euros on the IBEX 35.

RWE, the second-biggest power producer in Germany and which did not approach Scottish Power, meanwhile lost 0.64 per cent to 85.50 euros.

On Wall Street Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down a hefty 1.29 per cent at 12,121.71 points.

The technology-weighted Nasdaq composite slid 2.21 percent to 2,405.92 points and the broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped 1.36 percent to close at 1,381.90.—AFP