0907741949

European Stocks Slide as Dollar Falls; Daimler, Aegon, BMW Drop
Thảo - 0907741949
By Alexis Xydias
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined to a three- week low after the dollar slumped against the euro. DaimlerChrysler AG and Aegon NV led a slide by companies that rely most on the U.S. for sales.
``The weak dollar is poison for European exporters and the region's economy,'' said Guenther Gerstenberger, a fund manager at Oberursel, Germany-based PEH Wertpapier AG, which oversees about $2.5 billion.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slid 0.8 percent to 355.98 in London, its lowest since Nov. 3 and the second weekly decline. The Stoxx 50 and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 12 nations sharing the euro, both lost 0.9 percent.
European companies get a fifth of their sales from the U.S. and the dollar's slide to a 19-month low of $1.3082 per euro means there's less profit for exporters to take home. The Stoxx 600 this week touched a 5 1/2-year high as earnings growth powered a rally in equities.
``Should the euro rise beyond $1.35, it will get dangerous,'' said PEH Wertpapier's Gerstenberger.
The pound surged to its highest in almost two years against the dollar while the Swedish krona and Swiss franc also rose.
National benchmarks fell in all 18 western European markets except Iceland. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index lost 0.3 percent. France's CAC 40 benchmark dropped 0.7 percent and Germany's DAX slid 1 percent.
Party Over?
DaimlerChrysler, the German carmaker that gets about 45 percent of sales in the U.S., fell 1.8 percent to 45.54 euros. Aegon, the second-largest Dutch insurer, fell 2 percent to 14.11 euros. About half of its revenue comes from the Americas.
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world's largest maker of luxury cars, slumped 2.7 percent to 42.81 euros. North America accounts for a quarter of BMW's sales.
``The rising euro is going to hurt sentiment in Europe,'' said Gerhard Grebe, chief investment strategist at Bank Julius Baer & Co. in Frankfurt. Should the euro go to $1.35, the equity market's ``year-end party will be over shortly.''
Volvo AB, Europe's second-largest truckmaker, fell 1.2 percent to 454.5 kronor. Western European heavy-truck sales slid 1.7 percent in October as customers slowed purchases following the introduction of regulations making vehicles more costly.
Kingfisher Plc, the region's biggest home-improvement retailer, lost 2.6 percent to 249.75 pence. Deutsche Bank AG lowered the stock to ``sell'' from ``hold,'' saying there will be ``more pain before the gain'' as earnings growth falters.
Takeover Talks
Air France-KLM Group, Europe's largest airline, fell 1.1 percent to 29.82 euros, extending yesterday's 6.5 percent drop. Analysts at ABN Amro Holding NV cut the shares to ``sell'' from ``hold'' after the airline said it's revived takeover talks with unprofitable Alitalia SpA.
Technip SA, Europe's second-largest oil-services company, rose 7.6 percent to 55.7 euros, the biggest gain on the Stoxx 600. Eni SpA, Europe's fourth-largest oil company, plans to make an offer to buy the France company, La Tribune said, without citing anyone. The offer may come at the start of next week, the newspaper said.
Eni Chairman Roberto Poli declined to comment. Eni fell 0.4 percent to 24.66 euros.
RWE AG, Germany's second-largest utility, jumped 3.3 percent to 86.54 euros. The Rheinische Post reported the company may be a takeover target, without identifying possible bidders.
The newspaper said RWE managers are ``unsettled'' by large purchases of the company's stock and held a special meeting to discuss the situation. The report didn't say where it got the information.
Boost Payout
RWE spokeswoman Barbara Woydtke said no special meeting took place and declined to comment further.
Scania AB rose 2.2 percent to 475 kronor. Sweden's second- largest truckmaker again rejected MAN AG's hostile takeover bid as too low and said it may boost its payout to shareholders to 17 billion kronor ($2.46 billion) through next year to fend off MAN. MAN shares fell 2.2 percent to 69.94 euros.
Erste Bank AG, Austria's second-biggest lender, fell 2.4 percent to 54.22 euros. Morgan Stanley was selling shares worth about 100 million euros ($131 million) in Erste Bank, based on yesterday's closing price, said a person with knowledge of the transaction.
The U.S. brokerage offered 1.8 million shares in the Vienna- based bank, said the person, who asked to remain unidentified. The person declined to give a price for the offer.
Renova Energy Plc jumped 7 percent to 230 pence. The U.K. company that makes ethanol for use in the U.S. Rocky Mountains said first-half profit rose 45 percent on higher sales.
Ipsen SA, a French drugmaker controlled by the Mayroy family, added 2.9 percent to 33.33 euros. Analysts at Goldman, Sachs & Co. rated the shares ``buy'' in new coverage, citing new and planned drugs. The U.S. brokerage also added the stock to its ``conviction buy'' list of favorite stocks.