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Traders in London focus on the impact of Amersham bid

European stock markets frittered away early gains to head lower Friday as an uncertain start on Wall Street undermined investor sentiment, dealers said.

The British FTSE 100 closed down 0.07 percent at 4,311 points, the Frankfurt DAX 30 index was off 0.31 percent at 3,471.25 and the French CAC 40 fell 0.57 percent to 3,306.12.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro-zone shares sagged 0.51 percent to 2,518.44 points.

"It's very calm and people are taking some profits ahead of the weekend," said one dealer in Paris.

Both Japan and the US were on the eve of a long holiday weekend.

In London, the focus was on GE's agreed takeover bid, worth US$9.5 billion, for British medical diagnostics and biosciences firm Amersham, ending days of speculation about the identity of the suitor.

The US giant is paying a 45-percent premium on Amersham's capitalization on Tuesday before the mysterious takeover approach was announced, though the offer is still subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

Amersham shares surged by 15 percent to ?7.60 on news of the bid, showing a gain of about 37 percent since the close of trading on Tuesday.

Among other companies in the news, shares in supermarket group J Sainsbury lost 3.08 percent to ?2.6675 in London after the company reported weaker than expected quarterly sales, which fell by 0.2 percent on a comparable basis.

In Frankfurt, the stronger euro sent auto shares into a spin, with BMW off 1.42 percent at 43.82 euros in late trades.

Volkswagen was off 1 percent at 41.57 percent and DaimlerChrysler slipped 0.39 percent to 31.03 euros.

In Paris, the distributor Carrefour slipped 0.72 percent to 44.40 euros, reversing early gains despite reporting positive third-quarter sales and maintaining its full-year revenue target.

L'Oreal closed down 0.17 percent at 59.85 euros, reversing early advances after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock with an 'outperform' rating.

It argued the company looks well placed to outpace its rivals with 7.5-8.0 percent organic growth and to further gain market share.

In Amsterdam, the AEX index was off 0.45 percent at 323.13 points, the Swiss SMI slipped 0.25 percent to 5,204.5 points, in Milan the Mib 30 was 0.33-percent lower at 25,587 points, in Madrid the Ibex-35 dropped 0.63 percent to 6,974.7 points and in Brussels the Bel-20 closed 0.13-percent lower at 2,109.87 points.
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