LONDON (AFP) - European stocks saw mixed fortunes in muted early trading as investors digested a batch of company news, including a management shake-up at Marks and Spencer.
The London FTSE 100 index gained 0.17 percent to 4,724.70 points, while the Frankfurt DAX dipped 0.07 percent to 4,066.00 points and the Paris CAC 40 sagged 0.11 percent to 3,772.78 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares edged down 0.02 percent to 2,871.93 points.
The euro stood at 1.2928 dollars, down from Monday's record high of 1.2987 dollars.
In New York, shares ended almost flat on Monday as markets consolidated after last week's post-election rally, turning attention to a possible US interest rate hike on Wednesday and keeping an eye on the weak dollar.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.04 percent to close at 10,391.31 points and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite crept up 0.02 percent to 2,039.25 points.
The main broad-market indicator, the Standard and Poor's 500, lost 0.11 percent to 1,164.89 points, easing back after a nine-day winning streak that pushed the index to a two-and-a-half year high.
In London, Marks and Spencer shares fell 0.43 percent to 351.25 pence after the firm announced a major management shake-up and said trading had become tougher since its last update in early October.
The retailer, which fended off a takeover approach earlier this year, said it is slimming down its executive board to three from six, with the departure of a number of senior executives, including finance director Alison Reed.
The announcement accompanied news of a fall in underlying pretax profits to 292.7 million pound (420 million euros, 543 million dollars) in the first half to October 2 from 325 million a year earlier
In Paris shares in Societe Generale shed 0.27 percent to 22.12 euros after the French bank reported a third-quarter net profit of 739 million euros, up from 670 million a year earlier and well ahead of analysts' estimates.
Vivendi Universal shares rose 0.27 percent to 22.12 euros after the French media and communications company posted better-than-expected quarterly sales of 4.7 billion euros, despite a fall from 5.9 billion a year earlier.
Shares in Infineon slid 3.12 percent to 8.38 euros after the German chipmaker announced lower-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and pointed towards a slowdown in several business segments in the current quarter.
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose to 113 million euros from 67 million a year ago, but below analysts' expectations of 165-259 million.
In Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 0.17 percent to 10,964.87 points.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 0.33 percent at 13,516.67 points.
11/09/2004 - 11:18 GMT - AFP