European shares eased for a third straight session on Friday with business software group SAP down after news that global sector leader Microsoft won fewer new corporate contracts than expected in the third quarter.
A dollar near recent lows against the euro piled on more pain on European metal, paper, chemical and car exporters by making their goods more expensive in America.
But Telecom Italia gained after telling analysts it plans to include in its nine-month results the positive impact of an EU court ruling against a levy charged by the Italian government on telecoms operators.
Gemany's SAP fell 1.6 percent to 119.13 euros in the wake of Microsoft's news which dominated the transatlantic earnings calendar as the Seattle-based firm's widely-held shares tumbled on Wall Street.
The US firm reported higher quarterly profits and revenues, and raised its outlook for personal computer demand, but its caution on new corporate business left investors worrying that company spending was failing to recover.
This contradicted the impression made by chip leader Intel and other tech titans in their results.
Robert Sellar, technology fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management, said hopes are that budgeting at companies in the final weeks of the year will lead to more expenditure on software and other equipment next year.
"It's one of those wait and see stories," Sellar said, adding that Microsoft was probably dampening expectations to make comparisons with the all-important fourth quarter easier.
The FTSE Eurotop 300 index closed down 0.17 percent at 894.31 points.
Declining shares barely outpaced advancers in moderate turnover that left most sectors under water as investors in Japan and on Wall Street nursed steep losses this week too.
For the week, the Eurotop 300 index was 2.5 percent down, but remains 4.3 percent higher for the year.
"We have seen a bit of sell-off and that's healthy, but come this time next week we will be over the worst of the weakness," Sellar said.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index shed 0.26 percent to 2,482.56 points. Among Europe's bourses, London closed flat, though only 39 points above the key psychological level of 4,200 points.
Paris also ended little changed but Frankfurt shed 1.27 percent to 3,452.64 points, dragged further down in late trade as Wall Street extended its losses due to a tumbling Microsoft.
The earnings season gathers pace next week, with German drugmaker Schering and Norwegian oil firm Statoil kicking off on Monday.
But a key focus will be the US Federal Reserve's interest rate policymaking committee meeting on Tuesday with investors hoping for some encouraging comments on US economic recovery.
Banking shares wobbled earlier this week after news that some UK central bank policymakers wanted to raise British interest rates at their last meeting, which would have made money more expensive for companies while their earnings have yet to fully recover.
US rates are expected to remain steady next week.
"The bottom line for rate policy is that the Fed's position should stay in an accommodative frame and rates locked in, low and steady for quite some time," Bear Stearns bank said.
Among the day's other standouts, UK bank Lloyds TSB rose 0.8 percent to £4.14, buoyed by news it had agreed to sell its New Zealand unit for £2.25 billion to focus on reviving its UK business.
Shares in Business Objects bucked the downward trend in the market to jump up over 11 percent to 27.4 euros.
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