European equities soured by HSBC profits slump

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

LONDON (AFP) — Europe's main stock markets slid on Monday when investor sentiment was sapped by news of a 29-percent slump in first-half profits by global banking giant HSBC, analysts said.

Nearing midday trade in London, the FTSE 100 index of top companies stood at 5,352.80 points, a drop of 0.04 percent from Friday's close.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 slid 0.74 percent to 6,349.20 points and in Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.18 percent to 4,306.69 nearing the half-way mark.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares weakened by 0.44 percent in value to stand at 3,301.86 points.

The European single currency was at 1.5578 dollars.

Wall Street ended lower on Friday as a government survey showed employers slashed 51,000 jobs in July and as auto giant...