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Telecoms power Europe
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November 24, 2000: 12:19 p.m. ET
Bourses ring to telecom gains; banks rise, and Paris jumps 1.5%
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LONDON (CNNfn) - European markets closed sharply higher Friday, with telecom, technology, media and banking stocks leading gains after a bright return to business on Wall Street after the Thanksgiving holiday.
In Paris, the blue-chip CAC 40 jumped 94.64 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,147.68, after earlier dipping as much as 1 percent into the red. Chipmaker STMicrolectronics (PSTM) and bank Societe Generale (PGLE) led gains.
Frankfurt's late trading Xetra Dax advanced 66.45 points, or 1 percent, to 6,667.47, buoyed by gains for Infineon Technologies (FIFX), a rival of STMicroelectronics, and Deutsche Telekom (FDTE).
 London's benchmark FTSE 100 index recovered from an early reverse to close at 6,327.6, up 0.6 percent, with index heavyweight Vodafone Group (VOD) and retailer Great Universal Stores (GUS) among the winning stocks.
Amsterdam's AEX index jumped 1.8 percent, the MIB30 in Milan rose 1.6 percent, and Zurich's SMI added 0.3 percent.
The broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index, a basket of Europe's largest companies, climbed 1.3 percent to 1,601.9 as its telecom sector steamed up 3.3 percent, led by a 5.9 percent jump for Finnish mobile-phone maker Nokia.
Meantime, the Eurotop's computer sub-index was 3.9 percent lower, hit by a warning by information technology consultant Sema Group (SEM) that profit would fall below analysts' and its own expectations.
 click here for the biggest movers on the ftse 100 in London
 click here for the biggest movers on the dax 30 in Frankfurt
 click here for the biggest movers on the cac 40 in Paris
U.S. markets soared Friday. The markets were open for half-day trading after Thursday's holiday. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite surged 4.1 percent to 2,869.81, rising from a 13-month set Wednesday, while the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.9 percent to 10,495.26.
In the currency market, the euro strengthened to 83.91 U.S. cents from 83.72 cents in late European trading a day earlier.
On Europe's bourses, telecom operators and makers of network equipment headed higher. Among hardware firms, Alcatel (PCGE) added 4.4 percent and network and mobile phone maker Ericsson rose 4.9 percent.
Chip designer ARM Holdings (ARM) rose 2.9 percent, STMicroelectronics gained 3.4 percent and Infineon surged 9.1 percent, while its parent, engineering and electronics company Siemens (FSIE), added more than 5 percent in Frankfurt.
Telecom heavyweights lent support, with the world's biggest mobile-phone operator, Vodafone Group (VOD), up 2.4 percent in London, France Telecom climbing 3.3 percent and Deutsche Telekom adding 3 percent.
 Continental European software and consulting stocks had a rough day after the warning by the U.K.'s Sema. Germany's SAP (FSAP) fell 1.7 percent and French technology consultant Cap Gemini (PCAP) slipped 2.5 percent.
Sema (SEM) itself crashed more than 44.2 percent in London, a punishment for saying that the U.S. company it bought as recently as March for $4.3 billion was responsible for dragging profits below previous forecasts.
The gloom spread to the company's U.K. rivals. Logica (LOG) was down 6.6 percent, Sage Group (SGE) shed 2.6 percent, Misys (MSY) fell 5 percent and CMG (CMG) fell 11.6 percent.
Banking stocks registered positive gains. Societe Generale led gains on the Paris bourse for most of the day, finishing the session up 4.8 percent. BNP Paribas (PBNP) climbed 2.4 percent, while London-based Barclays (BARC) rose 1.4 percent and Deutsche Bank (FDBK) gained 1.3 percent in Frankfurt.
Societe Generale was toppled from top spot on the CAC 40 by the country's biggest broadcaster, TF1 (PFTI), which soared 4.9 percent. British Sky Broadcasting (BSY), Europe's second-largest pay-TV company, jumped 5.7 percent in London.
However, the best performer on the FTSE 100 was internet security company Baltimore Technology (BTM), which soared 6.9 percent.
Retail firm Great Universal Stores (GUS) climbed 3.8 percent ahead of its first-half figures Thursday. The company also is expected to announce the disposal of its best-known brand, Burberry. The Financial Times reported that it could float between 10 and 15 percent of Burberry in the second half of 2001 in a move it said would value the line at up to 1 billion pounds.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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