Telcos tumble on downbeat Swedes

TROUBLED Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson gave gloomy investors another excuse to get out of the sector, warning that demand may not pick up until 2004. Chief executive Kurt Hellstrom said operators are so mired in debts they may not be able to afford to expand for 18 months.

The warning comes against a backdrop of bankruptcies and pessimism about demand for new telecoms services such as high-speed internet access from mobile handsets.

Vodafone fell 2 1/2p to 100p, BT dropped 11 1/4p to 269p, while its former mobile arm, mmO2, fell 2 1/2p to 40p. Cable & Wireless tumbled 6 3/4p to 203 1/4p. 'The momentum downwards is relentless,' says one fund manager.

A more optimistic outlook from US equipment giant Cisco, released after the market closed, may help to reverse those losses.