Tech buy-up pushes Frankfurt to firmer close

European markets ended on a firm note in spite of another uneasy session for bond and currency markets.

Frankfurt finished at its best of the session with the Xetra DAX index almost eliminating net losses on the week with a gain of 144.11 at 7,530.82.

Technology shares, boosted by early gains for the Nasdaq, came in for late buying. Deutsche Telekom closed €3.17 ahead at €69.90 and SAP €25 at €669. Siemens put on €6.05 at €170.

Adidas-Salomon, which announced disappointing results on Thursday, rallied €3.70 to €70.20. Among top exporters, Volkswagen stayed a firm market, improving 90 cents to €46.80.

BASF reversed early losses to close with a gain of 35 cents at €48.85 after an upgrade to "strong buy" at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Lufthansa also came in for trader optimism, adding €1.24 at €24.50 following an upgrade to "outperformer" at private bank Merck Finck.

Paris had a volatile day, opening sharply higher, falling into negative territory but finally closing 0.8 per cent up at 6,545.76, just 17 points below the all-time high hit earlier this week.

The two main market movers, STMicroelectronics and Alcatel, posted good gains from the start and remained ahead of the pack. STM rose €12.10 or 5.85 per cent to €219 on news of a six-year contract to supply chips to Canada's Nortel, while acquiring its chipmaking facilities.

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel continued to benefit from bright prospects for next-generation mobile phone technology and Internet development. Shares gained another €20.60 or 7.5 per cent to €296.10. Several brokerage firms upped their price targets to as much as €400.

Amsterdam added 5.20 at 670.27 on the AEX index after a strong run by chemicals leader Akzo Nobel and good supporting performances from Royal Dutch and Philips.

Akzo Nobel gained €2.25 or 5.1 per cent to €46.75 as investors sought out basic economy stock while Royal Dutch, weak on Thursday, rallied €1.70 at €65.10.