Another session of steady buying sent Paris ahead for the third day running, lifting the CAC 40 index 100.7 to 6,426.26.
Ahead of Ascension Day today is a public holiday in France, but the bourse will open trading volumes remained active. Telecoms were again busy and there was a strong performance from Total Fina Elf.
The Nasdaq's overnight surge plus positive market comment on France Telecom's takeover of UK mobile operator Orange kept the techs pointing upwards. France Telecom rose €7.60 to €156.5 for a two-day improvement of almost 8.4 per cent. Bouygues added €20 at €664. Vivendi gained €3.20 at €115 and STMicroelectronics put on 85 cents at €63.90.
The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index added 0.5 per cent at 1,448.53 and the FTSE Eurotop 100 index 0.6 per cent at 3,738.37. The FTSE Eurotop 300 index improved 0.3 per cent to 1,595.40.
Total Fina Elf was one of the sharper old-economy gainers, adding €7.40 to €168.9 on broker oil price optimism. Motors met with selling. Renault lost 35 cents at €50.50 while component supplier Valeo lost €2 at €54.30 and Michelin €1.05 at €35.50.
Frankfurt ended 9.59 easier at 7,109.67 on the Xetra DAX index on a day of subdued trading volumes but solid gains for technology leaders.
Deutsche Telekom rose €1.50 to €66.50 amid continued speculation that its T-Online Internet offshoot would be in at the death in any auction for UK Internet service provider Freeserve. T-Online added 65 cents at €39.05.
Supported by the Nasdaq's overnight gains, other tech stocks stayed in demand. Epcos rose €3.50 at €130.85 and Siemens €1.65 at €157.21.
Goldman Sachs' weighting cuts for European chemicals sent BASF down €1.41 to €43.85 and trimmed Bayer 88 cents at €41.40.
Insurance sector switching into Munich Re following this week's results presentation hit Allianz, which dipped €10 to €383.60. Munich Re gained 91 cents to €311.11.
Amsterdam ended little changed after a mixed session by market leaders. The AEX index hardened 0.44 to 655.50.
Zurich closed a shortened session little changed after reversing early gains as investor interest waned. The blue-chip SMI index was 0.3 easier at 7,754.0.
