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|  | JANUARY 10, 2006
 WORLD EQUITY WATCH European Indexes End LowerThe Dow's Monday close above 11,000 didn't bolster European indexes Tuesday. Insurance stocks fell across the board.From Standard & Poor's European MarketScope European indexes closed weaker on Tuesday with profit-takers taking center stage after recent gains. Also, a weaker-than-expected report from Dow member Alcoa (AA ) caused US bourses to slide amid European jitters. Germany:The Xetra-Dax index (-0.77%) ended Tuesday's session lower. On the data front, Germany's ZEW sentiment indicator jumped to 71 in January from December's reading of 61.6, the highest level in two years. In Frankfurt, Allianz's (AZ )(-1.75%) DrKW unit is being sued for US$1.4 billion by women in the US who claim they hit a 'glass ceiling' as men are treated better in the investment bank. US chemicals group Engelhard (EC ) has advised its shareholders to defer taking any action at the moment, saying its management board will make a recommendation within ten days with regard to BASF's (BF )(-0.89%) unsolicited US$4.9 billion all-cash offer. Spanish newspaper Expansion reported that Fomento de Construccion & Acciona may be interested in buying RWE's (-0.19%) Thames Water unit. Beiersdorf's (-1.41%) 2005 sales rose 5.1% to €4.8 billion and net profit came in at €330 million against €302 million for 2004. A broker stressed that the group's Strategy 2010 is still not validated. Stada's (-0.21%) 2005 sales were up some 25% to over €1 billion. Majority shareholders were preparing to take KarstadtQuelle (+0.9%) private, according to FTD. The department store and catalogue group said this is pure speculation. United Kingdom: The FTSE 100 index ended weaker on Tuesday as Wall Street was edging lower in early trading. Banks weighed down the index as did mining stocks, after US copper group Phelps Dodge slashed fourth quarter earnings forecasts by 70%. Antofagasta (-5.2%), Rio Tinto (-2.44%), BHP Billiton (-2.13%), Xstrata (-3.59%) and Anglo American (-3.18%) suffered. Marks & Spencer (-1.83%) fell despite better than forecast sales for the 13 weeks to Dec. 31 as the retailer cautioned cost pressures will hit this year's results. Scottish & Southern (+0.74%) outperformed, lifting other utilities, on speculation that Swedish electricity company Vattenfall is weighing a takeover bid for the group. Pearson (PSO )(-2.42%) and Reed Elsevier (-2.43%) slid after McGraw-Hill (MHP )said 2006 would be a more challenging year for its Education arm. In the broader market, Cookson (+1.68%) disclosed that it expects overall performance for 2005 to be ahead of its previous forecasts. Abbot Group (+5.66%) soared on news that it has been awarded four international contracts valued at US$275 million. The company expects overall results for fiscal 2005 to be broadly in line with market expectations. Northgate (-1.88%) reported a 5.9% rise in first half group revenue with pretax profit up 2.4%. Alfred McAlpine (+1.92%) said overall performance was in line, and confirmed its target of double-digit growth in underlying profits. France: The CAC 40 index (-0.27%) closed lower. Techs and insurers were the worst hit by profit takers. JP Morgan removed Alcatel (ALA ) (-1.04%) from its focus list after the stock's recent outperformance, while remaining overweight. Axa (AXA )(-1.90%) was the day's worst performer; Scor (-3.09%) fell on reports that three executive board members will leave its Scor Vie unit. EADS (-1.37%) added to Monday's losses despite news of a US$1.8 billion order from Italy's Air One; a note from Exane underlined rising R&D costs. Autos bucked the trend: Renault (+0.61%) was upgraded to outperform by Cheuvreux; Peugeot (+0.89%). Vinci (+3.30%) jumped after a Morgan Stanley target change to €90.70 from €77.40. L'Oreal (+1.18%) was up on read-across from peer Beiersdorf. Veolia (+0.73%) gained on a CSFB target lift to €45.30. Due early Wednesday, Sodexho's (-1.43%) first quarter sales; after the close, Carrefour (-0.34%) fourth quarter sales. Peugeot will also publish fiscal 2005 global sales. Elsewhere:The SMI (-0.67%) ended Tuesday's session lower. Berna Biotech (-8.31%) took a knock after Novartis (NVS )(-1.44%) announced it has decided not to make an offer for the vaccine developer. Meanwhile, investors are increasingly speculating that a Novartis offer for Serono (SRA )(+2.97%) is in the cards. Nordic indices closed lower on Tuesday, albeit ending off the worst levels of the session. Helsinki (-0.85%) was the worst performing index, weighed down by Nokia (NOK )(-1.67%), which took 53 points off the OMX as eQ Bank downgraded the mobile phone giant ahead of its fourth quarter numbers.  Prepared by Zaida Espana, Valerie Vidal, Michael Sanderson, Mariella Mongio, Alexander Wisch, Holly Cook, Emma Stevenson, Pawan Girglani, Julien Manrique, and Rocio Opazo-Aniotz (Standard & Poor's); Alex Halperin (BusinessWeek Online) All of the views expressed in this research report accurately reflect the research analyst's personal views regarding any and all of the subject securities or issuers. No part of analyst compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this research report. Standard & Poor's Regulatory Disclosure Any advice, analysis, or recommendations contained in articles labeled "Insight from Standard & Poor's" reflect the views of Standard & Poor's, which operates separately from and independently of BusinessWeek Online. It is possible that BWOL may from time to time publish information that is not consistent with advice, analysis, or recommendations that are published by Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's and BusinessWeek Online are each units of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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