Frankfurt gained ground for the third day running despite mixed signals on the outlook for earnings from a range of top companies. The Xetra Dax index ended 45.69 higher at 5,058.29.
Allianz gained €1 to €286 after it announced it was looking to add 10 per cent earnings growth this year to the 30 per cent achieved for 1998. Munich Re added €5.35 to €190.95 in sympathy.
Strong earnings lifted engineer Linde €33.50 to €513.50. But a warning about trading this year from Volkswagen sent a shiver through the European motor sector. VW fell to €58.50 before closing off €4.20 at €62.85 as HypoVereinsbank downgraded the shares.
BMW, fighting to stem losses at its Rover car arm, shed €24 at €670 after a downgrade to "sell" at Bankhaus Metzler. DaimlerChrysler avoided the downturn. The FTSE Eurotop 300 index rose 14.53 or 1.18 per cent to 1,249.92.
Paris retreated from intra-day highs but ended in the black, with the CAC-40 up 5.75 to 4,213.70. Sanofi gained €5.10 to €167.20 on 1998 profits in line with expectations. Carrefour stood its ground, gaining €23 to €650, following reports, later denied, that Germany's Metro would launch a bid for the French hypermarket chain. Canal Plus advanced €10.30 to €304.10 after announcing it had told the European Commission, the EU executive and competition watchdog, about its link-up talks with BSkyB.
Sodhexo Alliance shed €6 to €157 after the chairman sounded a cautious note about long-term earnings per share.
Milan closed at its high, lifted by strong gains in Telecom Italia and its subsidiary Tim, amid reports that the two could merge to foil Olivetti's $58 billion (€53 billion) bid for Telecom.
Telecom Italia, up 50 cents at €10.06. Olivetti edged 1 cent ahead to €2.92 as the market awaited the outcome of meetings of the boards of Olivetti and Tecnost, which is being used as the vehicle for the takeover. The real-time Mibtel index closed 398 or 1.7 per cent higher at 24,520.
Amsterdam pushed higher with derivatives-driven trading among the heavyweight financials providing most of the momentum. Aegon rose €2.85 to €95.75 and ABN Amro 40 cents to €18.95 in 13.5 million shares traded. The AEX index ended up 2.15 at 538.84.
Helsinki forged 1.4 per cent ahead with Nokia leading the pack amid renewed enthusiasm for European telecom stocks. The Hex index rose 83.73 to 6,141.27.
Madrid tracked the rising European markets, with the general index adding 6.65 to 906.14.
