After a bullish start to the week, Europe's bourses have been sent packing again after heavy losses on Wall Street and in Asia.

Frankfurt's DAX index lost a hefty 2.7% and ended the day down 181.85 at 5458.04 points.

Analysts say the market remains under pressure from international influences. That negative sentiment combined with profit-taking after recent record gains sent all major German shares heading lower.

Particularly under pressure were shares of Allianz, down 3.9% after it announced 1997 group hidden reserves of DM87.7bn - the first time the insurer has released this data.

The CAC-40 at the Bourse de Paris followed the trend.

It finished at 4017.37, down 98.51. French stocks managed to pull away from the day's lows, but still lost 2.4% on the day.

"Wall Street's retreat was the main prompt behind the (French) sell-off but events in Asia are also to blame," said a Paris-based saleswoman with a French brokerage house.

She added that, although the French market's fall was triggered by events abroad and was not based on fundamentals, it was an appropriate time for shares to consolidate.

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©