Frankfurt maintained the pace as leading bourses pushed higher for the third day running, lifting the FTSE Euro-bloc 100 index by almost 1 per cent to 1,068.03. The FTSE Eurotop 100 index rose 1.15 to 2,989 37 and the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 added 1 per cent at 1,296.69.
Frankfurt extended its rally on the Xetra Dax index to 141 points in three days, with the benchmark gaining 29.91 at 5,243.21. Deutsche Telekom gained ground as the group's planned merger with Telecom Italia appeared increasingly distant. The stock added €1.74, or 4.9 per cent, at €37.44.
Paris ended just off its all-time high, buoyed by the firm start on Wall Street. Retail stocks did well, with Pinault-Printemps rising €7.50 or 4.8 per cent to €163.70 after it bought Mobile Planet, a California-based Internet trader.
There was active trading again in the three bank stocks involved in a merger and takeover battle. Banque Nationale de Paris, which has made hostile bids for both Societe Generale and Paribas, ended €1.70 or 2 per cent up at €86.00. Paribas and SocGen, which want to merge, both closed higher. SocGen rose €4.90 or 2.6 per cent to €190.10 while Paribas gained 90 cents or 0.8 per cent to finish at €110.
Amsterdam continued to ignore the uncertain political outlook, moving steadfastly ahead in spite of the collapse of the ruling coalition. Financial stocks continued to supply the main upward momentum. ABN Amro added 55 cents at €21.90 and Fortis gained 95 cents at €32.30. Oil giant Royal Dutch spun round after several days of marked weakness, rising 80 cents at €51.95.
On the downside, steel leader Hoogovens shed €1.35 at €35.60. The overnight slide for selected US tech stocks sent Philips down €1.95 at €84.35.
Milan was lifted by gains on Wall Street and other European bourses, but weak telecoms stocks put a cap on gains. Telecom Italia eased 2 per cent to €9.73 and Olivetti was 1.9 per cent lower at €3.29 on profit-taking.
