Stockholm - Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson has dropped to third place on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in the wake of recent financial turbulence, a report said Monday.

Ericsson had on August 7 lost almost half its value in terms of market capitalization compared to the corresponding day in 2007, the Svenska Dagbladet said.

The group's market capitalization was valued at 212 billion kronor (33.8 billion dollars), compared to 408 billion kronor on August 7, 2007.

The market capitalization was calculated by multiplying the price of its shares on the stock exchange by the number of shares issued.

With a market capitalization of 264 billion kronor, clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz topped the stock exchange' top-10 list, followed by banking group Nordea on 240 billion kronor, the daily said.

A year ago, the clothing retailer was placed second with a market capitalization of 328 billion kronor while Nordea was third with 279 billion kronor.

The list included telecommunications group Telia Sonera that has benefited from speculation of a takeover bid, heavy-vehicle maker Volvo, engineering groups Atlas Copco and Sandvik as well as pharmaceutical group Astra Zeneca.

The majority of Astra Zeneca shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange.

In the wake of the IT sector crash in 2002, Ericsson was not even on the top-10 list, suggesting the volatility in the sector. (dpa)