European markets made steady progress on a day of seasonally thin trading volumes and minimal corporate news. Helped by support in late trading from a solid start on Wall Street, the FTSE Eurobloc 100 index ended 0.3 per cent better at 1,362.44 while the FTSE Eurotop 100 index added 0.8 per cent at 3,617.35. The broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index finished up 0.6 per cent at 1,562.50. Healthcare and defence were respectively the best and worst performing sectors.
Paris rallied as the buyers regrouped behind tech-related shares and the so-called "storm" sectors. The CAC-40 index ended 10.67 better at a record high of 5,837.75.
Trading volumes were seasonally thin, with barely 16 million shares traded on the CAC-40, but momentum was buoyant enough with rising stocks comfortably outpacing losers.
Among techs, business software group Equant rose five cents to €107.20 and Alcatel put on €10.10 at €217.60. Alstom added €1.13 at €33.89.
The storms that have swept France sent a number of selected leaders ahead. Glassmaker Saint Gobain put on €6.40 at €184.5 and overhead cables supplier Schneider rose €1.80 at €77. Castorama, the DIY stores specialist, advanced €15.50 to €305.50, a gain of 5.3 per cent.
Frankfurt ended virtually all-square after paring early gains caused by a jump for DaimlerChrysler, which met with active buying following Tuesday's upbeat trading statement. By the close of trading, the Xetra DAX index was off 1.96 at 6,859.58 after touching a session best of 6,888.51.
Better-than-expected preliminary 1999 earnings sent Daimler Chrysler ahead by 2.7 per cent or €2.01 at €76.60. It was a performance that helped make amends for profit-taking in financials.
Deutsche Bank, a strong market lately on tax reform, swung lower, giving up €2.37 at €83.88. HypoVereinsbank shed 97 cents at €67.15. Among insurers, Allianz fell €2.20 at 335 and Munich Re €2.58 at €250.20.
Mannesmann, the target of a takeover bid from Vodafone AirTouch, failed to respond to news of a big rise in mobile phone customers, losing €1.40 at €239.10 on negative arbitrage.
Amsterdam gained ground on a bounce for market heavyweight Royal Dutch. The AEX index added 3.97 at 662.45. Royal Dutch saw some of the best trading volume after buyers took advantage of recent weakness to push the shares up €1.57 at €60.10. Telecoms group KPN stayed firm, adding a further €1.75 at €94.20. Media stocks were mixed. Elsevier added 16 cents at €11.61 but Wolters Kluwer lost 96 cents at €33.70.
Madrid closed little changed with the general index improving 4.97 at 1,002.92.
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