May 20 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell on concern that profit growth will slow as higher oil prices raise transport and energy costs for companies and consumers. Airlines including Air France SA and British Airways Plc declined.

Computer-related stocks such as Infineon Technologies AG slid after Kim Nam Hyung, an analyst at Isuppli Corp., forecast lower memory-chip prices as demand drops.

High ``oil prices will cause inflation and reduce overall growth,'' said Julian Cane, a fund manager at F&C Asset Management in London. ``It's negative for the stock market.''

The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index slipped for the first day in three, losing 0.7 percent to 2664.15 as of 9:19 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 600 shed 0.7 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50, a benchmark for the 12 countries sharing the euro, slid 0.9 percent.

Speculation that a record high crude-oil price would stymie economic growth sent the Stoxx 600 and Euro Stoxx 50 to their 2004 lows on Monday. A U.S. Department of Energy report yesterday showed oil inventories declined, adding to concern that companies and consumers will spend more on fuel and less on other goods.

Air France, Europe's largest airline, fell 0.9 percent to 12.79 euros and British Airways, the No. 2, dropped 2.4 percent to 256.75 pence. Deutsche Lufthansa, Europe's third-biggest, fell 1.4 percent to 12.35 euros.

Fuel makes up 13 percent to 16 percent of a carrier's total costs, according to March data from Aviation Economics, a London- based consultancy firm. Crude oil rose 0.2 percent to $41.6 a barrel in electronic trading in New York. Jet fuel added 0.3 percent in London.

Ascension Day

Benchmark indexes fell in all 10 Western European markets open today. Germany's DAX Index slipped 1.2 percent. France's CAC 40 Index dropped 0.9 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index lost 0.8 percent. June futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 shed 0.7 percent.

Markets in Austria, Luxembourg, Scandinavia and Switzerland are closed for the Ascension Day holiday.

Trading in Germany and France is lighter than usual because it is a national holiday in both countries. The number of DAX shares traded is 53 percent of the level it was at the same time on May 13, when the day's total volume matched the three-month average of 106 million shares changing hands. Trading in CAC shares is at 80 percent of the average level.

Infineon, Europe's second-biggest chipmaker, shed 1.8 percent to 10.46 euros and ASML Holding NV, the region's largest maker of semiconductor equipment, dropped 2.5 percent to 13.14 euros.

Spot prices of the most widely used computer memory chips may drop more than a quarter by the end of June because of growing inventories and slowing demand from personal computer makers, Kim Nam Hyung said. Taiwan-based market place Dramexchange.com also forecast prices to fall this week, extending a 5 percent drop in the previous seven days.

To contact the reporter on this story: Miriam Steffens in Munich at msteffens1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 20, 2004 04:26 EDT