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Europe closes higher
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November 27, 2000: 1:07 p.m. ET
Technology, media issues lead bourses higher; euro rises against the dollar
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LONDON(CNNfn) - Europe's main markets ended higher Monday, as recently battered technology and media stocks followed their U.S. counterparts higher and led broad-based gains.
But investors turned their backs on some technology and media issues and weakness in pharmaceutical and retail sectors helped pare earlier, sharper gains on the region's bourses.
 The benchmark FTSE 100 index in London, home to Europe's biggest market, ended up 47.1 points, or 0.7 percent, to reach 6,374.7, with publisher Pearson (PSON) and information technology consultant Sema Group (SEM) leading gainers.
Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax rose 32.73 points, or 0.49 percent, to 6,696.91, led by chipmaker Infineon Technologies (FIFX) and automaker Volkswagen (FVOW).
In Paris, the blue chip CAC 40 rose 25.68 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,171.33, as consumer electronics firm Thomson Multimedia (PTMM) and information technology consultant Cap Gemini (PCAP) rallied.
In other European markets, the AEX index in Amsterdam rose 1.1 percent, Milan's MIB 30 slipped 0.2 percent, and the SMI in Zurich rose 0.8 percent.
The broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index, a basket of Europe's largest companies, rose 0.4 percent, with a 3.1 percent advance in its computer services subindex.
 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
In the currency market, the euro rose to 85.09 U.S. cents from 83.83 cents in late trading in New York on Friday.
click here for the biggest movers on the techMARK 100 in London
click here for the biggest movers on the Neuer Market in Frankfurt
click here for the biggest movers on the Nouveau Marché in Paris
In the United States, the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9 percent, while the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average was 1.1 percent higher in midday trade.
Tech shares take center stage
In the technology sector, Franco-Italian computer-chip maker STMicroelectronics (PSTM) rose 3.7 percent and German rival Infineon Technologies (FIFX) climbed 4.6 percent.
 Software firm Logica (LOG) advanced 5 percent while SAP (FSAP), Europe's biggest software company, rose 2.4 percent.
Investors were buying back into some stocks that fell Friday in the wake of a profit warning from Anglo-French Sema Group's warning, but were not seen as vulnerable to some of the issues the British information technology service provider is facing.
"There are a few people looking for a rally from an oversold position," Investec Bank's chief investment officer Chris Hills told CNNfn.com
Sema (SEM) ended up 5.8 percent, bouncing back after crashing 44 percent Friday. Sema's French rival Cap Gemini (PCAP) added 4.8 percent on Monday.
Consumer electronics firm Thomson Multimedia (PTMM) added 6.6 percent. Electronic component firm Epcos (FEPC) rose 1.8 percent and its parent, technology powerhouse Siemens (FSIE3), rose 2.4 percent after saying it was reorganizing its U.S. operations.
 Bucking the tech rally were fiber-optic component maker Bookham Technology (BHM), down 7.4 percent and telecom equipment maker Marconi (MNI), down 4.3 percent.
Among media shares, Pearson (PSON) climbed 6.3 percent.
"Look across the sector and other publishers are up ... this is a kind of pausing for breath having taken a hammering consistently for the last couple of weeks," said Andrew Gordon-Brown, analyst at J.P. Morgan.
Cable operator Telewest Communications (TWT) advanced 5.6, and French media-to-missiles firm Lagardere (PMMB) closed up 3.2 percent.
Pay-TV operator Canal Plus (PAN) fell 2.6 percent and Vivendi (PEX), the French media and utilities company that is in the process of merging with Canada's Seagram (VO: Research, Estimates), gave up earlier gains to end down 1.6 percent.
Among financials, French bank Crédit Lyonnais (PCL) rose 3.4 percent and insurer Assurances Générales de France (PAGF) added 2.4 percent.
In London, Alliance & Leicester (AL-) rose 3.8 percent after British newspaper The Independent on Sunday reported National Australia Bank is mulling a takeover bid for the U.K. mortgage bank that could value Alliance & Leicester at £4 billion ($6 billion).
Elsewhere, German logistics and tourism firm Preussag (FPRS) rose 3.9 percent and airline Lufthansa (FLHA) added 3 percent.
British business services provider Capita Group (CPI) climbed 5.6 percent.
German retailer Karstadt (FKAR) fell 1 percent even after it announced its nine-month pretax loss shrank by 61 percent and forecast pretax earnings growth of 15 percent for the year. Karstadt credited sales growth of 4.9 percent, which outstripped the sector average, a slight improvement in profit margins and cost controls.
France's Carrefour (PCA) ended down 2 percent.
Drug stocks were generally weak across Europe with Germany's Schering (FSCH) down 4.7 percent, while France's Sanofi-Synthélabo (PSAN) slipped 1.7 percent.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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