European equity markets were higher as Wall Street's early foray into uncharted territory, after Monday's record close, proved more compelling than concerns over an escalation of the Yugoslavian conflict.
The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index, which covers the leading companies in countries which have joined monetary union, closed €8.97 or 0.9 per cent higher at 1,066.87. The FTSE Eurotop 100 index, covering countries both inside and outside EMU, climbed 39.04 to 3,035.38, while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index was 16.52 higher at 1,306.15.
Frankfurt closed near its high for the day as a Merrill Lynch upgrade for DaimlerChrysler helped the market shrug off reports that Serb forces had entered Albania. The Xetra Dax index closed with a rise of 57.67 at 5,225.22.
DaimlerChrysler put on €3.19 to €91.95 as the US investment bank raised the stock to an intermediate-term buy. Earlier, the motor group dismissed a report it was keeping the door open on a deal to acquire a stake in Japanese truck and bus maker Nissan Diesel from Renault of France.
A €1.28 surge in Thyssen-Krupp to €20.08 was attributed to a change in its weighting in the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx index.
Mannesmann, up €1.60 at €134 and Deutsche Telekom, €1.10 ahead at €41.70 attracted buyers ahead of this week's annual news conferences.
Analysts said the market would be looking for news of acquisition plans from the telecom rivals, although they noted that Telekom had declined yesterday to comment on speculation it could be a white knight bidder for Telecom Italia. HypoVereinsbank put on €1.95 to €57.75, extending Monday's rebound from the weakness evident since mid-March.
Adidas-Salomon, the sportswear and equipment maker, jumped 2.80 to 78.80 on the view that the worst of the company's news was now in the price and that the outlook for earnings had improved. The shares had fallen 18 per cent since the start of the year.
Paris closed little changed at the end of a yo-yo day. The market began stronger, reaching a life high within minutes of the opening before turning negative on the news from Albania. The CAC-40 settled a mere 12.41 higher to 4,367.41. Vivendi shed €6.50 to €230.50 after announcing a €5.7 billion capital increase and saying it would seek a separate listing for its utilities unit.
