July 18, 2007	Wednesday	Rajab 02, 1428

LONDON, July 17: Europe's main stock markets sank on Tuesday, with the mining sector taking a hit from weak metals prices after a mixed overnight US showing, dealers said.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares dropped 0.82 per cent to 6,643.00 points, in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.96 per cent to 6,067.06 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 lost 1.02 per cent to 8,023.36.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares declined 0.74 per cent to 4,523.90 points.

The euro stood at 1.3766 dollars.

Wall Street closed mixed on Monday, but the blue-chip Dow set a third straight record high near 14,000 points as investors cheered the sounds of a robust earnings season revving up.

London-listed mining companies suffered on Tuesday from declining metals prices.

Platinum miner Lonmin saw its share price dive 3.51 per cent to 3,845 pence after brokers Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs cut their price targets. Lonmin had warned Monday of lower platinum sales and production.

Peers Vedanta Resources and Kazakhmys fell 3.47 per cent and 2.48 per cent, to 1,752 pence and 1,375 pence respectively.

In Paris, the biggest blue chip loser was Schneider Electric, down 1.92 per cent at 102.52 euros, as it continued to give up gains from last week that followed a favourable EU court decision and broker upgrade.

Across the Atlantic on Monday, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.31 per cent to an all-time closing high of 13,950.98 points, after reaching a record intraday peak of 13,989.11.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 0.36 per cent to 2,697.33 points and the broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index shed 0.19 per cent to close at 1,549.52.

Last week the US market burst out of a two-month trading range, shaking off worries about a meltdown in the US housing market and banking on an extended period of moderate economic growth and steady interest rates, analysts said.—AFP