Weaker banks help pull European indices down

Eurostoxx 50: 2,271.77 (–58.31) Frankfurt DAX: 5,766.48 (–147.05) Paris CAC: 3,084.07 (–73.27)EUROPEAN STOCKS fell the most in two weeks yesterday, amid concern the euro area's leaders are far from agreeing on a plan to end the region's debt crisis.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 1.5 per cent at the close of trading, extending losses after Die Welt reported that Germany has not ruled out postponing a euro-area summit planned for this month.

“The markets demand a solution now,” said Ben Hauzenberger, a Zurich-based fund manager at Swisscanto Asset Management.

“The current flight to quality behaviour of investors shows just how little confidence they have,” he said.

Euro-area leaders are scheduled to meet on October 23rd, with disagreement over the European Central Bank’s role threatening to hinder progress on the banking and economic questions needed to deliver the comprehensive strategy dem- anded by global policy makers.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy flew to Frankfurt for an impromptu meeting last night with German chancellor Angela Merkel, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet and International Monetary Fund Director Christine Lagarde.

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s second-biggest bank, dropped 9.8 per cent to €1.20.

UniCredit, the nation’s largest lender, tumbled 12 per cent to €84.6 euro.

France’s Société Générale lost 7.6 per cent to €17.97 in Paris.

Actelion plunged 9.7 per cent to 30.70 Swiss francs, the biggest slump since March 2010, after it said product sales will fall in the low to mid-single digits range next year in local currencies.

Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest mining company, slid 3.9 per cent to 3,015p as copper dropped for a fourth day in London trading.

Nokia Oyj rallied 5.5 per cent to €4.73 after the Finnish maker of mobile phones reported a smaller than estimated loss and forecast a profitable quarter for the handset business.

Ericsson, the world’s largest maker of wireless network equipment, rose 4 per cent to 68.10 kronor after saying third-quarter net income climbed to 3.82 billion kronor ($580 million) from 3.68 billion kronor a year earlier. – (Bloomberg)