Bourses rally to end week on firmer note

European markets rallied gently to end on a brighter note after a week of steady downwards drift.

Frankfurt took its cue from the relatively tame US producer price index for May and Wall Street's upbeat start.

Trading volumes remained subdued but a number of leaders met with buying and the broad market pushed higher. At 5.30 p.m. German time the Xetra DAX index was up 19.33 at 7,262.46.

Brushing aside the interest rate concerns that dogged them earlier in the week, banks had a better session. Deutsche Bank added 64 cents at €87.05 and Dresdner €81 cents at €46.01.

Paris had a dull day, rising in the wake of the US inflation data but slipping back to close just 0.4 per cent higher.

The CAC-40 index put on 25.39 to 6,549.05. The best riser in the CAC was Equant, up 3 per cent to €46.

Most of the action was on the broader market where textiles group Dollfus Mieg gained 20.1 per cent to €5.38 after announcing it was close to finalising the sale of non-strategic assets.

Amsterdam ended 1.61 ahead at 673.74 on the AEX index after a session of narrow trading which kept the benchmark within a range of just six points.

ASM Lithography stayed upbeat in the wake of Thursday's upgrade by Deutsche Bank. The shares gained a further €2.43 at €44.03 for a two-day advance of 11 per cent.

Among index heavyweights, Philips shed €1.20 at €50.60 while Royal Dutch gained 87 cents at €66.30.

Madrid stocks gained as investors decided a rise in euro-zone interest rates was good news for Spain with its above-average inflation rate. The Ibex 35 index added 73.6 or 0.7 per cent to 10,873.2.

Milan ended higher but apart from a brief spurt after the US producer price data most of the interest was focused on a few corporate stories. The Mibtel all-share index gained 0.7 per cent to 32,060.