EUROPEAN SHARES FELL ON FRIDAY AS AFTER COMPUTER GIANT DELL WARNED IT EXPECTED LOWER SALES AND PROFIT IN THE SECOND QUARTER, FUELLING WORRIES ABOUT THE TECH SECTOR FOLLOWING WEAK RESULTS BY CHIPMAKER INFINEON AND SOFTWARE FIRM SAP, REPORTED REUTERS. TECH GIANTS SUCH AS INFINEON, ERICSSON, THE WORLD'S LARGEST SUPPLIER OF MOBILE PHONE NETWORK EQUIPMENT, AND SAP EXTENDED LOSSES AFTER DELL SAID IT EXPECTS LOWER REVENUES AND EARNINGS PER SHARE IN THE SECOND QUARTER. SIEMENS ALSO FELL 2 PERCENT AFTER DELL'S NEWS. BY 1147 GMT, THE PAN-EUROPEAN FTSEUROPE 300 INDEX WAS DOWN 0.6 PERCENT AT 1,293.18 POINTS, AFTER CLOSING UP 0.2 PERCENT ON THURSDAY. TOP LOSER WAS SAP, FALLING MORE THAN 4 PERCENT AFTER JP MORGAN SLASHED ITS RATING TO "UNDERWEIGHT" FROM "OVERWEIGHT", ALMOST HALVED ITS PRICE TARGET AND REMOVED THE COMPANY FROM ITS FOCUS LIST, FOLLOWING SAP'S DISAPPOINTING FIGURES ON THURSDAY. INFINEON SHED 4.5 PERCENT AFTER ITS THIRD-QUARTER EARNINGS MISSED MARKET EXPECTATIONS, WITH A STRONG SHOWING BY ITS SOON-TO-BE DIVESTED MEMORY SUBSIDIARY QIMONDA FAILING TO COMPENSATE FOR THE REST OF THE BUSINESS. "BOTH COMPANIES HAVE RAISED DOUBTS THAT COMPANIES CAN DELIVER HIGH EXPECTATIONS," SAID LANG & SCHWARZ TRADER STEFAN CHMIELEWSKI IN DUESSELDORF. SWEDEN'S ERICSSON FELL 2.2 PERCENT AFTER PRETAX PROFIT AND THE OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN BEAT EXPECTATIONS, WHILE SALES AND GROSS MARGIN FELL SHORT. WEAK RESULTS FROM INFINEON'S RIVAL INTEL AND INTERNET FIRM YAHOO ALSO CONTINUED TO WEIGH. MINERS RIO TINTO AND ANGLO AMERICAN FELL ABOUT 2 PERCENT. "THERE IS NO IMPULSE TO LIFT MARKETS AT THE MOMENT," SAID KAI STEFANI, STRATEGIST AT DIT FUND MANAGER. BRITAIN'S FTSE 100 INDEX WAS DOWN 0.5 PERCENT, FRANCE'S CAC 40 DOWN 0.8 PERCENT AND GERMANY'S DAX FELL 1.4 PERCENT, HIT BY HEAVYWEIGHTS SIEMENS AND SAP. AMONG FEW STANDOUT GAINERS, SHARES IN SAP RIVAL SOFTWARE AG GAINED 4 PERCENT AFTER ITS SECOND-QUARTER EARNINGS BEAT THE TOP END OF ANALYST EXPECTATIONS. SWISS DRUG MAKER ROCHE EXTENDED GAINS AFTER POSTING A 37-PERCENT RISE IN FIRST-HALF NET INCOME ON THURSDAY, TRADING UP 0.3 PERCENT. SWEDISH CAR MAKER VOLVO WAS DOWN 0.4 PERCENT AFTER REPORTING A BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED RISE IN PRETAX QUARTERLY PROFIT. ON THE MACROECONOMIC FRONT, ITALY'S WIN AT THE SOCCER WORLD CUP GAVE A STRONG BOOST TO CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN JULY, EASING SHOPPERS' FEARS ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY, THINKTANK ISAE SAID. IN THE UK, OFFICIAL DATA SHOWED ECONOMIC GROWTH ACCELERATED UNEXPECTEDLY TO ITS FASTEST RATE IN TWO YEARS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2006, BOOSTED BY A SURGE IN RETAIL SALES. AND IN FRANCE, CONSUMER SPENDING ROSE 1.7 PERCENT MONTH-ON-MONTH IN JUNE AND INCREASED 5.6 PERCENT COMPARED WITH A YEAR EARLIER, NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE INSEE SAID. U.S. STOCK INDEX FUTURES WERE MIXED AFTER DELL'S STATEMENT, RANGING BETWEEN A GAIN OF 0.1 PERCENT AND A LOSS OF 0.3 PERCENT.
