European markets were firm in the last session before the Easter holiday after mobile phone maker Nokia reported earnings ahead of expectations.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300 added 0.6 per cent to 817.0, trimming last night's losses when it ended a three-day winning streak. Although the uncertainty about the strength of the economy kept hanging over the markets, some upbeat earnings reports lifted the mood ahead of the holidays.
At 3.30 p.m. Frankfurt's Dax rose some 52 points to 2878.24, the Paris Cac 40 was marginally ahead by just 5 points on 2900.78 while in London the FTSE 100 traded up 24 points on 3879.10.
The markets will be closed for trade until Tuesday April 22nd next week.
In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was expected to open up 40 points at about 8,300 and the Nasdaq Composite was seen rising 8 points to 1,400.
Nokia edged higher after it reported earnings ahead of its guidance from last month with higher margins supporting a resilient performance in its handset unit. Overall sales fell 3 per cent from last year, in line with its warning in March.
The company said second-quarter EPS would fall to between €0.13 and €0.16 after taking a restructuring charge of €350 million-€400 million for its lossmaking Networks unit. Nokia was 5.6 per cent stronger at €14.54 in Helsinki.
Swedish rival Ericsson rose 1.7 per cent to SKr6.05 while France's Alcatel was 1.1 per cent higher at €7.57.