European markets mostly pushed ahead yesterday, buoyed by early firmness on Wall Street and relief that the Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates unchanged. The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index closed 13.36 or 1.3 per cent higher at 1,059.42. The FTSE Eurotop 100 rose 36.70 or 1.3 per cent to 2,955.32, while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 settled 14.20 or 1.1 per cent up at 1,284.53.
Frankfurt ended at its high for the session with the Xetra Dax index up 52.83 at 5,213.30.
Deutsche Telekom moved ahead smartly in the wake of strong quarterly results from British Telecommunications. Under pressure lately from concerns and doubts about the planned merger with Telecom Italia, the shares rose €1.18 to €35.70.
Preussag jumped to the top of the German performance charts, adding €2.86 or 6.2 per cent at €48.86. SAP rose €21 to €399.10, while Siemens lost €1.17 at €67.25.
Paris bounced back from early losses, buoyed by Wall Street's solidity and heavy trading among three bank stocks involved in a merger and takeover battle. The CAC-40 added 63.17 or 1.5 per cent higher, to close at 4,375.91. Banque Nationale de Paris rose €3.25 or 4 per cent to €84.30 on rumours, later dismissed by analysts, that it might be about to raise its hostile bid for Societe Generale. SG and Paribas ended higher, with some analysts saying the rise represented a general rerating of the banking sector. SG gained €3.20 or 1.8 per cent to end at €185.20, while Paribas closed €4.30 or 4.1 per cent up at €109.10.
Total and Elf-Aquitaine, the oil groups, were the most heavily-traded stocks on the CAC as investors renewed their interest in the sector. Total climbed 80 cents or 0.7 per cent to €114.60, while Elf ended €3.60 or 2.7 per cent higher at €136.90.
Amsterdam brushed aside political concerns to lift the AEX index 7.80 to 558.00 in spite of splits within the ruling coalition.
Financials were strong, with ABN Amro up 75 cents at €21.35 in 12.4 million shares traded. ASM Lithography jumped €2.05 to €43.95.
Confirmation of a big share buyback and hints of links with Air France could not save KLM from a mauling in the wake of disappointing final-quarter results. The stock came off 60 cents at €29.30.
Madrid powered ahead in late trading. The general index ended up 14.33 or 1.6 per cent at 901.28, its high for the day.
Milan was lifted by a rally in Olivetti and its take-over target, Telecom Italia, as the market bet that Olivetti would land a significant stake through its $65 billion hostile bid by Friday's deadline. The Mibtel index rose 498 or 2.1 per cent to 24,465.
