European equity markets were higher today as merger and acquisition activity and speculation offset the effects of falling commodity prices on oil producers and miners.
In opening trade, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.2 per cent at 1,293.36, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax added 0.3 per cent to 5,468.95. In Paris, the CAC 40 was 0.3 per cent higher at 4,833.24, and London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.4 per cent to 5,741.0.
Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone operator by sales, was up 2.7 per cent to 113.7p after reporting key performance indicators which pleased the market. The company said 4.5 million new customers were added in the first quarter and announced forecast beating organic revenue growth.
Elsewhere, three separate private equity consortiums are said to be considering bids of more than €8 billion for the semiconductor business of Philips Electronics.
The Dutch company was expected to decide by the end of the week the division's future. Last month it indicated it would either sell the unit or float it by the end of 2006.
France Telecom gained 1 per cent to €16.58 after it said it was in talks with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts about the sale of the 54 per cent stake it owns in PagesJaunes, the directory company.
Fiat, the Italian car maker, was expected to report its third-consecutive quarterly profit. Ahead of the numbers it announced a pair of joint ventures.
Financial Times Service