A rally by firms exposed to asbestos litigation provided the only feature in otherwise lacklustre trade on softer European stock markets yesterday as investors looked ahead to key economic events next week.
German steel group ThyssenKrupp was among the top gainers after Deutsche Bank said it had added the firm to its European top picks list, while banks HVB Group and Commerzbank firmed on renewed merger speculation.
But British pubs group JD Wetherspoon lost over a quarter of its value after warning that full-year profits could fall 10 per cent short of expectations if a decline in sales growth continued.
Eurozone economic data showing subsiding inflation and deteriorating consumer confidence fuelled expectations that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates next week.
"Broader sentiment isn't doing too badly. The general feeling is that December is traditionally a good month and also technically we're not in the worst shape we've been," said Eureffect Asset Management fund manager Lex Werkheim.
"People feel that we have a little higher to go in the coming weeks which will help sentiment in the short-term," Werkheim added.
By 1635 GMT, with only Frankfurt still trading, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index of European blue chips was down 0.2 per cent while the eurozone DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index eased 0.3 per cent.
That left the Eurotop broadly flat for the week but around 19 per cent higher than the five-and-a-half year lows plumbed on October 10.
On Wall Street, which ends a half-day session at 1800 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were barely changed.
The focus of the day was news that Germany's Fresenius Medical Care had reached an out-of-court agreement in a US case related to asbestos claims, catapulting the stock 30 per cent higher.
"This removes the sword of Damocles that has been hanging over FMC. The payment of $15 million is very cheap," said Michael Leinewebber, an analyst at BW-Bank in Stuttgart.
The news provided relief to European investors worried about a multi-billion dollar compensation bill for exposure to the mineral dust.
Swedish-Swiss engineer ABB, French building materials group Saint Gobain and Irish constructor CRH all leapt by between four and six per cent.
Elsewhere, telecoms and technology stocks slipped, hit by weakness in heavyweight Nokia ahead of next week's meeting with investors and amid profit-taking in recent high-flyers such as France Telecom.
British telecom groups BT Group and Vodafone fell 1.9 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively.
Chemical stocks such as Dutch AKZO Nobel and Germany's BASF rose 4.0 per cent and 2.5 per cent apiece after news on Thursday that the European Union's chemical industry expects production to rise three per cent next year.
With a dearth of news to mull yesterday, investors turned their attention to events next week, when mobile phone giant Nokia will be the main corporate event as it holds its capital markets day in Dallas on Monday and Tuesday.
The economic highlight of the week will be the European Central Bank's meeting on Thursday, where economists expect it to announce an interest rate cut of up to 50 basis points to combat the growing risk of economic stagnation.
Equity strategists said an interest rate cut should help sustain the recent rally in European stocks.
Investors will also scrutinise a welter of economic data, chief among which will be the US Institute of Supply Management's (ISM) keenly awaited November survey of business activity and the US November unemployment report.
The ISM, out on Monday at 1500 GMT, is likely to beat expectations as it comes against a background of a number of more upbeat November surveys. The unemployment rate, scheduled for release on Thursday, is expected to rise.
"We should get a positive view on the US economy from the ISM that indicates something of a stabilisation and indeed a bounce," said John Shepherd, economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
"But the risk going forward is that the labour market deteriorates, and that will undermine consumer confidence further, which could be a problem," Shepherd added.