January 27, 2007	Saturday	Muharram 07, 1428

LONDON, Jan 26: European share prices sank on Friday after sharp overnight losses in New York, dealers said. London's FTSE 100 index of top shares fell 0.27 per cent to 6,252.40 points in late morning deals, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index shed 0.32 per cent to 6,698.26 and in Paris the CAC 40 index slid 0.48 per cent to 5,582.43 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip shares slipped 0.54 per cent to 4,152.95 points. The euro stood at 1.2924 dollars.

Wall Street took a pounding Thursday as a jump in bond yields stoked fears that the low interest rate environment fueling US economic and profit growth may be in jeopardy, dealers said.

In Paris on Friday, aerospace group EADS saw its share price tumble 2.04pc to 24.46 euros.

The British government has warned EADS that it could lose military contracts worth billions of pounds if crucial Airbus wing component work is handed to Germany or Spain instead of Britain, the Financial Times reported Friday.

The business daily cited as its source Lord Paul Drayson, Britain's minister for defence procurement, whose comments were attributed to him by the trade union Amicus.

Drayson has told EADS that any decision to abandon a planned investment of 100 million pounds (152 million euros, 196 million dollars) in a new wings facility in Filton, near Bristol in southwest England, would have consequences, the FT said.

In London, Xstrata sank 1.07 per cent to 2,398 pence and BHP Billiton fell 0.89 per cent to 950.5 pence.

In Paris however, shares in L'Oreal bucked the trend as its fourth-quarter sales update showed a recovery in North America and prompted a slew of broker upgrades, dealers said. Shares leapt 4.57 per cent to 81.3 euros.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 1.30 per cent to 2,434.24 points, a day after its best close since February 2001.—AFP