Leading bourses overcame a bad day for the euro to finish little changed. Wall Street's early gains provided most of the underpinning. The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index improved 0.1 per cent to 1,057.68. The FTSE Eurotop 100 index added 0.2 per cent to 2,948.80 while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index ended up 0.3 per cent at 1,279.51.
Frankfurt reversed early losses. The Xetra Dax index closed 17.36 ahead at 5,183.08 after touching a session low of 5,101.50.
Dresdner lost 95 cents at €36 in advance of first quarter results, out tomorrow. BMW fell €9.12 at €635. Chemicals leader Degussa Huels gained €2.04 to €39.36. Allianz, a weak market lately, rose €6 to €270.80. Mannesmann, up more than 15 per cent in six days on optimism over potential Italian telecoms deals, ran into profit-taking. The shares lost €3.20 at €133.50.
Paris ended almost flat in thin trade as investors reacted to the volatile opening on Wall Street by staying on the sidelines. A handful of stocks outperformed strongly to help lift the CAC-40 index 2.9 or 0.1 per cent to 4,376.68. Dexia, the Franco-Belgian bank, rebounded from the fall suffered across the European banking sector on Tuesday. It finished €4.40 or 3.4 per cent higher at €133.10. Valeo, the car parts maker, ended €2.50 or 3 per cent up at €84.50. France Telecom rallied after two days of losses, climbing €2.15 or 3 per cent to €74.65.
Amsterdam ended little changed after a subdued session for leading stocks. The AEX closed 1.04 lower at 559.90. Fortis came off 85 cents at €32.10 after the company hinted at plans for a considerable part of a recent $2.6 billion acquisition by a share issue sooner rather than later.
Nedlloyd crashed €1.40 or 5.6 per cent to €23.80 after KLM abandoned plans to buy the shipping group's 50 per cent stake in Martinair. VNU continued to climb, adding €2.10 at €40.85 for a two-day advance of 10 per cent per cent following news of an Internet marketing deal plus acquisition speculation.
The Mibtel index pulled back from a high of 24,683 to close 113 higher on the day at 24,485. Analysts noted that liquidity freed from the Telecom bid was going back into telecoms with many funds determined not to be caught underweight in Telecom Italia. Telecom's shares, the most actively traded on the bourse, closed 4.4 per cent higher at €9.98.
Madrid recouped more than half its early losses as gains on Wall Street provided support. The market was also lifted by the strong start in Sao Paulo, which helped ease concerns about the future prospects of Latin American markets. Tabacalera, the tobacco company, was one of the top gainers amid speculation that it would raise prices or announce a link-up with another group. The stock closed 57 cents or 3 per cent higher at €19.60.
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