October 05, 2007	Friday	Ramazan 22, 1428

LONDON, Oct 4: Europe’s main stock markets saw mixed fortunes on Thursday amid investor caution ahead of interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, analysts said.

Both the ECB and BoE were expected to keep their key rates on hold at 4.00 per cent and 5.75 per cent respectively following their regular monthly policy meetings.

Investors are on alert over interest rate movements because they impact savings, business loan repayments and consumers’ disposable incomes.

In Thursday morning trade, London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares dipped 0.47 per cent to 6,565.70 points and the Paris CAC 40 index added 0.11 per cent to 5,812.56 points.

Meanwhile, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index shed 0.18 per cent to 7,947.16 points and the Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares slid 0.17 per cent to 4,419.50 points.

The euro stood at $1.4127, after hitting a record high $1.4283 earlier in the week.

There isn’t much happening today. The ECB is of course important, but we don’t expect any changes, one Frankfurt-based trader said, adding that he expects the day to remain quiet.

The US market was lower yesterday and of course we are working that in also to some extent. Wall Street shares sank Wednesday as investors nervously awaited Friday’s key September employment report that could signal the direction of US interest rates later this month.

The London market’s gains were underscored by the troubled Northern Rock, whose shares jumped 11.3 per cent to 169 pence amid persistent takeover speculation.

Investors also eyed a possible climax in the titanic takeover battle to win control of Dutch banking giant ABN Amro.

The winner of Europe’s biggest-ever banking takeover is to be revealed in days, with analysts predicting that a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland has beaten rival bidder Barclays to land ABN for more than 100 billion dollars (71 billion euros).In London on Thursday, RBS shares jumped 3.79 per cent to 575 pence and Barclays rose 1.64 per cent to 650.5 pence.

In Amsterdam, ABN Amro saw its share price add 0.53 per cent to 37.69 euros while the Dutch capital’s Amsterdam Exchanges Index, on which the group is listed, won 0.15 per cent to stand at 541.36 points.

German share prices were led lower by steel giant Thyssenkrupp, whose stock sank 1.93 per cent to 44.62 euros.

The sector was hit as traders said demand concerns in the US steel sector were spreading to the European market.

In US deals on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.56 per cent to 13,968.05 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.64 per cent to 2,729.43.

The broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index slid 0.46 per cent to finish at 1,539.59 points.—AFP