European shares rose today after Wall Street's strong close, with TeliaSonera leading the charge with a pledge to trim its costs.
Early this morning, the FTSEurofirst 300 index was 0.3 per cent higher at 1,090.41 points, just short of fresh 31-month peaks. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index was also 0.3 per cent firmer at 3,052.90 points.
TeliaSonera was among the biggest gainers as investors cheered plans from the Nordic region's biggest telecoms operator to cut costs by five billion to six billion Swedish crowns a year over three years.
Shares in the Swedish-Finnish group, which faces fierce competition on saturated home markets, rose 4 per cent.
Elsewhere, French food giant Danone also helped feed market gains after it stuck to its 2005 earnings goals despite posting a net profit that fell more than forecast.
Shares in Gallaher also added 2.3 per cent to 856.5 pence as talk resurfaced that Japan Tobacco was mulling a bid for the UK cigarette maker. Dealers said the talk was that Japan Tobacco would pitch an offer at 1,000 pence per Gallaher share or just above.
In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.8 per cent at 10,749.61 points, while the Nasdaq Composite ended flat at 2,053.10 points.