Around the World's Markets: Stockholm

SWEDISH STOCKS posted their biggest losses since early October, with the OMX index shedding 5.8 per cent to finish at 586.

Ericsson, the third-largest mobile phone maker in the world, recorded its biggest-ever one-day loss - 28 per cent - as it said profits would undershoot and margins would fall as demand shifts to cheaper models. Astra dipped 6 per cent, paring the 13 per cent surge on Wednesday, on fears that its merger with Zeneca may not deliver a profits boost as soon as anticipated.