March 11 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell amid concern profit growth is slowing. Aegon NV, Allianz AG, Nokia Oyj and Suez SA led the decline.

Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group Plc, the U.K.'s second- largest insurer, plunged after reporting a loss that was more than twice as large as estimates. Spain's IBEX 35 Index dropped. Three bomb attacks on Madrid trains killed at least 60 people in the country's worst terrorist attack, politicians said.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index slid 1.9 percent to 2718.54 at 10:30 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 600 lost 2 percent, with all 18 industry groups lower. The Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 12 countries using the euro, declined 2.1 percent.

``The enthusiasm is over,'' said Christian Saalfrank, who manages about $1.2 billion at Helaba Invest in Frankfurt. ``The indexes are going to fall further as there is no good news to be seen. Earnings estimates are going to be revised down rather than raised.'' He said Helaba lowered its weighting on stocks versus bonds to ``neutral'' from ``overweight'' two weeks ago.

U.S. stocks slid yesterday on concern economic and profit growth this year won't meet investor expectations. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 1.5 percent, as did the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Asian stocks fell today. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index down 0.9 percent.

Stocks in Europe extended declines today after the European Central Bank said interest rates are appropriate.

Earnings Estimates Cut

Since the end of February, analysts have cut their 2004 profit growth estimates for Stoxx 600 companies by 0.4 percentage points to a consensus forecast of 17.6 percent, and the trend will continue, according to JCF Group, a financial-information company. Earnings advanced close to 25 percent last year.

Aegon, Europe's third-largest insurer, lost 3.2 percent to 11.13 euros. Allianz, the region's second-biggest, fell 4.3 percent to 94.35 euros. Nokia, the world's biggest mobile-phone company, slid 2.8 percent to 17.53 euros. Suez, the world's No. 2 water company, declined 3.9 percent to 16.8 euros.

Royal & Sun, the U.K.'s second-largest non-life insurer, sank 13 percent to 91 pence after it had a full-year net loss -- its fourth consecutive one -- of 382 million pounds ($688 million). The median forecast of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 187 million-pound loss.

Spain's IBEX slid 1.6 percent. The three bombs today exploded between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. near the Madrid train stations of El Pozo, Santa Eugenia, and Atocha. The death toll might rise to as many as 125, Efe newswire said, citing information to Spain's National Court. The Red Cross said 200 people were injured.

National Benchmarks Drop

Benchmark indexes fell in all of the 17 Western European markets. Germany's DAX Index shed 2.8 percent, erasing its gain for the year. France's CAC 40 Index dropped 2.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index lost 1.7 percent. March futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 fell 1.5 percent to 2864.

Agfa-Gevaert NV, Europe's largest maker of X-ray products and films, lost 0.8 percent to 22.92 euros. The company said fourth-quarter sales fell 12 percent to 1.05 billion euros ($1.28 billion) even as net income more than quadrupled because of a gain on the sale of a unit to General Electric Co.

BP Plc, Europe's largest oil company, lost 1.2 percent to 449 pence. The company said its proven natural-gas reserves fell last year, as reductions from asset sales, production and revisions outweighed additions from exploration and acquisitions. It was the first annual decline in the company's overall gas reserves in at least five years, BP figures show.

Rhodia Rises

Fortis, the largest Belgian financial-services company, slipped 0.4 percent to 18.52 euros as it said gains on equity investments helped net income climb 37 percent to 849 million euros in the fourth quarter.

Rhodia SA, France's biggest specialty chemical maker, added 2.5 percent to 2.92 euros. It agreed to sell its food ingredients unit to Denmark's Danisco A/S, the world's largest maker of food additives, for 320 million euros as Rhodia seeks to avoid default. Danisco shed 2.6 percent to 285 Danish kroner.

Alvis Plc, Britain's biggest maker of military tanks, surged 38 percent to 291 pence. General Dynamics Corp., the largest manufacturer of armored vehicles for the U.S., said it agreed to buy the company for 309 million pounds in cash.

Buderus AG, a German maker of heaters and boilers, climbed 12 percent to 34 euros after Robert Bosch GmbH, the world's second-largest auto-parts maker, said it will pay about 61 million euros for the shares it doesn't already own in the company in a forced buyout.

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

Last Updated: March 11, 2004 05:35 EST