European markets end higher

March 4, 2002 Posted: 1748 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- European markets ended higher on Monday, led by tech and media stocks, and supported by an early rally on Wall Street spurred by renewed confidence in the economy.

London's FTSE 100 rose 1.4 percent to 5,242, while the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris added 2.7 percent to 4,607.44 and Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was up 2.9 percent to 5,245.29 in late trading (the German markets was to close at 1900 GMT).

The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, rose 2 percent.

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An early jump on Wall Street, after a strong finish on Friday, helped restore hope for improved corporate results, especially in the tech and telecoms sectors.

In Europe, that enthusiasm helped boost companies such as German electronic parts maker Epcos (EPCG), which was the top gainer in late trading in Frankfurt, rising 10.1 percent and adding to its strong advances from the past week.

German chip maker Infineon (IFXG) was up 5.6 percent in late trading after saying global contract prices for DRAM chips had risen recently. Tech giant Siemens (SIEG) was up 4.9 percent in Frankfurt, while French telecoms equipment maker Alcatel [PARIS:CGEP] ended 7.1 percent higher.

UK chip designer ARM Holdings (ARM) jumped 8.5 percent and Cap Gemini (PCAP), Europe's biggest computer services company, rose 5.3. Ericsson, the world's biggest supplier of mobile phone networks, added 7.2 percent and Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, rose 6.9 percent.

Leading the media advance was British publishing group Pearson (PSON), owner of the Financial Times, which jumped 13.8 percent. The London-based group said on Monday its pretax profit fell 12 percent to £294 million ($417.8 million) in 2001, down from £333 million a year earlier. The decline in profit was below forecasts and the group said it expected a better profit performance this year.

Vivendi Universal (EAUG) rose 7.3 percent as investors looked for strong financial results from the world's second biggest media group on Tuesday.  

Meanwhile, HSBC Holdings (HSBA), the world's second-largest bank by market value, rose 5.6 percent after it said net income fell 18 percent to $5.41 billion in 2001 from $6.63 billion a year ago. The London-based bank said on Monday provisions for bad loans had more than doubled to $2.04 billion, including $1.12 billion for Argentina.

Among Europe's smaller markets, Amsterdam's AEX index rose 1.7 percent and Milan's MIB30 index added 1.5 percent, while the SMI in Zurich was up 0.8 percent.

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In the U.S. on Monday, Wall Street was boosted at midday by continued investor optimism about the economy, ignited by last week's report showing growth in the manufacturing sector.

At midday, the Nasdaq composite index was up 36.02 points, or 2 percent, to 1,838.76, while the Dow Jones industrial average rose 140.66 points, or 1.4 percent, to 10,509.52.