Technology and telecom stocks were among the better performers on a mixed day in Europe, although they shed some of the gains after the Nasdaq opened up but quickly dropped back, defying the signs from the futures market.
Markets were also supported by a report from Goldman Sachs which upgraded its recommended holdings of global equities from "neutral" to "overweight".
Chip stocks were strong after a 7 per cent surge on the US Philadelphia semiconductor index on Thursday. Infineon rose 2.9 per cent to €47.80, STMicroelectronics rose 1.9 per cent to €50.30 and chip equipment maker ASM Lithography rose 4.1 per cent to €30.57.
Other parts of the technology sector benefited from the better mood triggered by a US earnings report which suggested that new economy stocks may have discounted the worst outlooks.
Siemens added 2.6 per cent to €156.01 and Alcatel edged up 1 per cent to €68.75.
Telecoms were mostly in the black. KPN rose 7.5 per cent to €17.99 amid takeover rumours. It has put on 46 per cent since the dark days of late December, but given that it peaked at €75 there is plenty more lost ground to recover.
France Telecom slipped 1.4 per cent to €95.05 ahead of Monday's pricing of the flotation of its Orange mobile subsidiary. Among smaller TMTs, troubled German media company EM.TV rose more than 60 per cent at one point before slipping back to trade about 24 per cent higher at €7.90 after talk of a counter-bid to Kirch's rescue attempt.
The new suitor, a small British investment bank, is said to be ready to buy EM.TV's 50 per cent stake in Formula One holding SLEC, offering about a third of what EM.TV paid for it last year.
