Benign US payroll data gave bourses a strong shot in the arm as the euro continued to languish.

Frankfurt marched 3.1 per cent ahead, taking the Xetra Dax index up 181.97 to a high for the year of 6,119.17, which put it within striking distance of its best-ever close of 6,189.6 on July 20th last year.

SAP shot up €29.90 to €446.99 following a 3 per cent rise on the Nasdaq overnight, after the group said its Internet investment was paying off.

Internet service provider freenet.de soared to €83.50, a 188 per cent premium to its €29 issue price, as the issue made its debut on the technology-rich Neuer Markt. Mannesmann gained €7 to €225, lifted by talk that US hedge funds were moving into the stock on the expectation that Vodafone AirTouch's bid would win the day.

Deutsche Telekom climbed €3.69 to €60.09, benefiting from the continuing strong demand for telecoms stocks. The share had been under pressure earlier in the day over its warning that the acquisition of British cellphone operator One2One would weigh on fourth-quarter profits.

In the motor sector, BMW gained 61 cents to €27.81, helped by the weak euro, as the group reiterated its expectation that key 1999 results would match last year's levels. Paris resumed its record-breaking ways in the wake of the US data. The CAC-40 climbed 113.86, or 2 per cent, to close the session at 5,468.05, topping its previous all-time high of 5,443.23.

Strategists said equities had been helped by a decline in long-term market rates, with the French benchmark 10-year OAT yielding 5.28 per cent, down from 5.35 per cent overnight.

They added that low interest rates would be most supportive for highly valued stocks which are most susceptible to competition from high-yielding financial instruments.

Alcatel led the CAC's rally, jumping €17.50, or almost 8 per cent, to €214.

Semi-conductor company STMicroelectronics also rose nearly 8 per cent, closing up €9.8 at €134. France Telecom bounced back from Thursday's profit-taking to rise €6.40 to €117.90, while network service provider Equant settled €1.55 higher at €96.40.

Amsterdam was also carried to a lifetime peak, the AEX blue-chip index advancing 11.33 to 617.51, down only slightly from a new intra-day high of 617.60. Technology shares led the rally, with the IT index rising more than 4 per cent.

Semiconductor ASM Lithography spearheaded the rise, climbing €3.95 to €99.95.