Receding concerns about rising US interest rates allowed European markets to springboard off early lows and close broadly higher.
The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index, which sagged to a low of 1,057.97, finished 0.8 per cent better at 1,074.02. The FTSE Eurotop 100 added 0.3 per cent at 3,035.98, while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 improved 0.2 per cent at 1,312.76.
Frankfurt rallied in late trading, reversing early losses and closing with the Xetra Dax index up 53.40 at 5,344.92. Volkswagen added €2.93 at €65.63. HypoVereinsbank shot to the top end of the euro zone performance charts, gaining €3.75 to €56.30 on talk that the bank was set to spin off its Direktbank offshoot. Dresdner Bank also found favour, adding €1.20 at €36.20. Mannesmann fell back 50 cents at €145, hit by a combination of profit-taking and soured sentiment following news of a potentially steep rise in the engineering-totelecoms group's debt-to-equity gearing.
Paris ended near its session high as investors took encouragement from the early strength on Wall Street. The CAC-40 index closed 45.79 up at 4,418.18.
Valeo led the index forward as the carmaker rebounded from a dip of 3.5 per cent in the previous session. It finished €5.30 or 7 per cent higher at €81.50. Technology stocks proved popular, with Alcatel climbing €7 or 6 per cent to €124. STMicroelectronics, the chip maker and one of Europe's best performing stocks in the past eight months, hit an all-time high of €131.50 before closing at €129.20, up €3.80 or 3 per cent.
Amsterdam stood aside from the late rally in Europe, ending 0.20 lower at 565.43 on the AEX index after another very narrow session for share prices.
Heineken came off steeply after a local press report claimed that Dutch beer sales had fallen 4 per cent in the first four months of 1999. The stock, which showed resilience recently in the face of a profits warning from Danish rival Carlsberg, retreated €1.40 to €51.60.
Royal Dutch added 45 cents at €57.45. Telecoms group KPN was the day's heaviest casualty, sliding €1.60 or 3.5 per cent to €43.80.
Milan edged ahead, with the Mibtel index rising 40 to 24,110 in response largely to strength in the banking sector. Among financials, Unicredito rose 3.1 per cent to €4.29, while Banca di Roma added 0.6 per cent to €1.39 after the bank's shareholders approved the buyback of up to 10 per cent of outstanding capital.
Madrid edged forward in mostly quiet trading dominated by the banking sector. The general index closed 5.63 or 0.6 per cent higher at 901.05.
