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Europe gains pared by Wall St.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- European markets closed off their highs on Monday as big gains in tech and insurance stocks were eroded after an initial rally on Wall Street ran out of steam. London's FTSE 100 rose 1 percent to 4,090.5 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris added 2.1 percent to 3,120.85, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was up 2.2 percent to 3,168.73 in late trading (the German market was set top close at 1700 GMT). The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was up 1.1 percent. Markets managed to end in positive territory despite a midday fallback on Wall Street and bad news for the German economy, the biggest in Europe. The Ifo Institute's monthly survey of business leaders showed confidence weakened for a fifth straight month in October, hampered by a faltering recovery. (Full story) Technology stocks led early gains across the continent after investors in the U.S. on Friday snapped up shares in the battered sector. The tech-laden U.S. bellwether Nasdaq market surged 2.5 percent, led by the world's biggest semiconductor company Intel. France's STMicroeletronics (PSTM), Europe's biggest chipmaker, rose 3.9 percent to 19.85 euros, while Germany's Infineon Technologies (FIFX), the region's No. 2 chipmaker, was up 8.6 percent to 10.37 euros in late Frankfurt trading. ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker, gained 7.9 percent to 8.90 euros. France's Alcatel (PCGE), the world's fifth largest telecom equipment maker, was up 6.4 percent to 4.15 euros, while Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, rose 3.2 percent to 17.31 euros and Swedish rival Ericsson jumped 12.1 percent to 7.40 crowns. The computer sector was led higher by Cap Gemini (PCAP), Europe's biggest computer services group. It topped the leader board in Paris, rose 8.2 percent to 23.02 euros. The company reports its third quarter sales numbers on Wednesday. Among insurers, the UK's Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) gained 8.7 percent to 109 pence, while Prudential (PRU) added 5.6 percent to 468 pence in London. France's Axa (PCS) rose 5 percent to 14.79 euros in Paris and Germany's Allianz (FALV) was up also 5 percent to 107.08 euros in late Frankfurt trading. Spanish stocks made strong gains after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won Brazil's presidency on Sunday to lead the first left-wing government in Latin America's largest nation. (Full story) Spain's three biggest companies have seen their stocks come under pressure amid concerns Lula's victory would be detrimental to business. Santander Central Hispano was up 2.6 percent, while Banco Vizcaya Argentaria gained 3.1 percent and Telefonica added 2.2 percent. All three have large operations in Brazil and Latin America. In other markets, the AEX index in Amsterdam rose 2.7 percent and Milan's MIB30 index advanced 0.7 percent, while the SMI in Zurich was down 0.8 percent. In the U.S. on Friday, stocks pared early gains at midday after an enthusiastic start on Monday after a upgrades by investment banks for Dow components Citigroup, Merck and Hewlett-Packard. (Full story) At 1515 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial average was down 48.69 points to 8395.30 and the Nasdaq composite fell 3.35 points to 1327.78, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 0.06 points to 897.71.
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