LONDON (CNN) - European bourses ended higher on Thursday, with 'old-economy' utility and financial stocks showing the leading gains.
London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent to 5,915.9 at the close, as insurer Prudential (PRU) rose 2.7 percent and rival CGNU (CGNU) advanced 1.9 percent.
United Utilities (UU-) was up 2.4 percent after a bullish statement on expansion opportunities.
The London Stock Exchange announced it plans to float by the end of July on its own market.
In Paris, the CAC 40 blue chip index ended 0.5 percent higher at 5,656.47, with insurance group AXA (PCS) the best performer, up 2.1 percent.
Hair products group L'Oreal (POR) rose 1.5 percent after Merrill Lynch upgraded the luxury goods sector on Wednesday.
Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax advanced 1.1 percent in late trading to 6285.07. The world's second-largest power utility E.ON (FEON) rose 4.2 percent after Morgan Stanley said it was its top pick in the sector. Rival RWE (FRWE) climbed 3 percent.
Britain's Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) gained 2.6 percent and France's biggest multi-utility Suez gained 0.7 percent.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index was down 0.2 percent, but Milan's MIB30 index gained 1.1 percent, with utility Enel the best-performing share, up 2.5 percent.
Trading was generally quiet on the continent, with many dealers away for the Ascension Day holiday. The Swiss and Nordic bourses were closed.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was up 0.2 percent, with the life assurance sector up nearly 1 percent.
In the U.S., the Nasdaq composite index fell 7.62 points, or 0.3 percent, in morning trading to 2,235.86, while the Dow Jones industrial average lost 30.78 points, or 0.3 percent, to 11,074.73. Government data revealed new home sales fell sharply last month.
Eyes were on Washington as well, where Republicans lost control of the Senate for the first time since 1994, potentially upsetting President George Bush's conservative agenda. Vermont senator James Jeffords announced he is becoming an independent, shifting control to the Democrats.
In the currency market, the euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar, fetching 85.70 cents from 85.65 in late U.S. trading on Wednesday. The euro fell to a six-month low on Wednesday after German and French economic growth came under pressure from a U.S. economic slowdown.
Technology stocks declined. Infineon Technologies (FIFX), Europe's third-largest chipmaker, fell 1.8 percent after saying on Wednesday that North American orders were falling.
Epcos (FEPC), a European electronic component maker, fell 0.9 percent after U.S. peer and wireless parts maker Sawtek (SAWS: Research, Estimates) said on Wednesday it expects fiscal third-quarter earnings to fall below expectations due to the continued slowdown in the wireless communication sector.
In London, the distributor Electrocomponents (ECM) was 3.4 percent down after rival Premier Farnell (PFL) reported a profits fall and said market conditions were getting tougher.
Britain's Railtrack (RTK) declined 3.7 percent. The operator of the UK's rail track, stations and signals reported losses of more than half a billion pounds. 
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