Ecco cosa dice la Reuters a metà mattinata:
Autos drag European stocks down, Sodexho tumbles
By Marius Bosch
FRANKFURT, Sept 5 (Reuters) - European blue chips slipped on Friday as auto stocks weakened, outweighing rising construction stocks and strong chip shares led by Infineon <IFXGn.DE> after industry titan Intel <INTC.O> raised recovery hopes.
Weaker U.S. stock index futures also weighed.
By 0829 GMT, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index <.FTEU3> was 0.32 percent down at 921 points, while the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index <.STOXX50E> stood 0.54 percent lower at 2,624 points.
Despite Friday's early losses, analysts said equities still had potential to outperform bonds with cyclical stocks likely to pull ahead.
"We conclude that equities have more room to outperform bonds given the growth and inflation outlook. In this context, we see further value in cyclicals," Goldman Sachs said in a research report.
STRONG CHIPS
Chip stocks rose after Intel Corp, the world's biggest semiconductor maker, said quarterly revenues will land around the top end of its previous target.
Shares in STMicroelectronics rose 0.53 percent, Infineon gained 1.4 percent, Europe's number three chipmaker Philips <PHG.AS> was 0.6 percent higher and Dutch chip equipment maker ASML <ASML.AS> stood 1.38 percent ahead.
"Chip stocks have not gained as much as other tech shares in recent days. They were the first to start the rally and the recovery promise is already reflected in higher prices."
"Intel's statement is more like a confirmation of what it said last week, rather than a radically new message," said Jan Paul van der Ent, fund manager at Van der Hoop Effectenbank in Amsterdam.
The FTSE European semiconductor index <.FTTXSC> has gained 83 percent since their March lows, compared with a 70 percent increase for the wider DJ Stoxx tech index <.SX8P> and a 36 percent rise for the FTSE 300 <.FTEU3>.
Construction stocks rose after Britain's RMC Group Plc <RMC.L> said it was confident it could meet market estimates for the year and that it had reached the low point of the group's performance in Germany.
RMC said earlier on Friday reported a drop in first-half profits to the lower end of forecasts amid sluggish demand at its German business.
Shares in UK building materials group Aggregate Industries <AGG.L> rose 1.66 percent, Germany's HeidelbergCement <HEIG.DE> was 3.27 percent stronger and the world's biggest plasterboard maker BPB Plc <BPB.L> rose 2.9 percent.
SODEXHO FALLS, ASTRAZENECA GAINS
Shares in French contract catering firm Sodexho <EXHO.PA> fell 4.9 percent after the group cut its profit guidance, saying its 2002-2003 profit would be comparable to the previous year excluding fluctuations in exchange rates.
In Germany, shares in auto giant DaimlerChrysler <DCXGn.DE> fell 2.13 percent, with the stock still burdened by weak U.S. sales data which showed its Chrysler unit sold less cars on its home turf in August than Japan's Toyota <7203.T>.
Shares in BMW <BMWG.DE> lost 2.08 percent and Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen <VOWG.DE> fell 1.55 percent.
Shares in industrial and electronics giant Siemens <SIEGn.DE> lost 1.32 percent after its most profitable unit, Siemens Power Generation said it did not expect to maintain its high profit margins in the coming financial year.
In London, shares in drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc <AZN.L> rose 1.66 percent after Deutsche Bank said on Friday it had increased its rating on the stock to "buy" from "hold" and lifted its price target for the stock to 31.50 pounds from 26.50 pounds.
Investors will be looking to the release of U.S. labour department figures for August at 1230 GMT for further evidence that the U.S. employment situation may be on the mend.
(Additional reporting by Lucas van Grinsven in Amsterdam)