Bourses rally on strength of Balkan peace hopes

European bourses rallied at the end of the day on news that President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia had ordered a partial withdrawal of troops from Kosovo.

The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index, which covers leading companies in the euro zone, closed 3.15 or 0.3 per cent higher at 1,069.66.

The FTSE Eurotop 100, covering states inside and outside the zone, climbed 3.34 or 0.1 per cent to 2,984.96, while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 settled 0.17 higher at 1,295.91.

Paris climbed more than 1 per cent in the final 20 minutes of trading after a session of low volumes. The CAC-40 index closed 57.59 or 1.3 per cent up at 4,347.15.

Telecommunications companies prospered in thin trade, with France Telecom rising 2.65 or 3.7 per cent to €70 and Alcatel, the equipment maker, finishing 5 or 4.3 per cent up at €121.40.

Elf-Aquitaine, the oil group, put on 2.80 or 2 per cent to €143.30 on merger speculation whipped up by talk of a link-up between Texaco and Chevron.

Automotive equipment makers also benefited from rumours of mergers. Sommer Allibert climbed 72 cents or 2.5 per cent to €29.15, and Valeo 2.75 or 3.4 per cent to €84.

Frankfurt recouped most of its losses late in the session and the Xetra Dax index finished 15.49 weaker at 5,261.01. The index had spent much of the session around 1 per cent weaker on concerns that Wall Street would prove unable to hold its record gains from last week amid worries about higher interest rates.

Degussa-Huels, the speciality chemicals and metals trading group, lost 65 cents to €41.60, paring Friday's 5 per cent gains, as lower six-month results proved in line with expectations.

Veba, which holds almost two-thirds of Degussa shares, put on 70 cents to €55. Hoechst climbed 88 cents to €42.59 ahead of today's board vote on the planned merger with France's Rhone-Poulenc. Among telecom stocks, Mobilcom tumbled €12.50 to €200.50 after the group said price-cutting and competition would keep pressure on its margins.

Milan staged a late recovery, which helped the Mibtel index to pick up from a low of 24,499 to close just 88 easier at 24,767. BCI bucked the trend to close with a gain of 3.4 per cent at €7.66, with Paribas said to be a strong buyer. The Italian bank confirmed it would hold a board meeting on Friday when it would consider merger offers.

Predator UniCredito, due to hold a board meeting today, finished flat at €4.57 having hovered in negative territory for much of the session.