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European markets end higher
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January 15, 2002: 12:49 p.m. ET
Telecoms and techs rebound, utilities stocks strong
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LONDON (CNN) - European markets ended higher on Tuesday, after a rebound in telecom and tech stocks, and supported by strong gains in the utilities sector.
London's FTSE 100 rose 1 percent to 5,166.0 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris was up 1.5 percent to 4,418.42, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax rose 0.6 percent to 5,094.75 in late trading. (The Frankfurt Stock Exchange closes at 1900 GMT).
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was up 0.9 percent, with big gains by the utilities, IT and energy sectors, while the steel and automobile sectors were among the decliners.
Britain's Vodafone (VOD), the world's biggest mobile phone operator, ended 2.3 percent higher after announcing the sale its stake in Atecs Mannesmann for  3.6 billion ($3.3 billion) to Germany's Siemens (FSIE). Siemens shares were up 0.7 percent in late trading in Frankfurt.
Another UK mobile operator, mmo2 (OOM) rose 3.5 percent after a better-than-expected demand for its bond offering this week.
Finland's Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone company, was up 1.21 percent, after declining earlier in the day. Sweden's Ericsson, the biggest supplier of third generation wireless infrastructure, was flat after recouping morning losses in Stockholm.
Alcatel (PCGE), France's biggest phone equipment maker, jumped 3.2 percent after declining earlier in the day. The company said on Tuesday it was selling its European distribution business to Platinum Equity of the U.S. The selling price was not disclosed.
Marconi (MONI), the loss-making British telecom equipment maker, which was dumped out of the FTSE 100 blue chip index last year after struggling to reign in its debt, plunged almost 11 percent. The company on Tuesday reported a 37 percent drop in third-quarter sales to £706 million and said it would cut another 4,000 jobs as it moved to reduce spending.
"It's looking pretty tough out here," Henk Potts, an analyst at Barclays Stockbrokers, told CNN. "It's going to be a tough year, especially for telecos. They want to cut costs anywhere they can."
The tech sector also clawed back from early loses on Tuesday. German components maker Epcos [FRE:EPCGn] was up 3.3 percent in late Frankfurt trading, while chipmaker Infineon [FSE:IFXGn] was up 2.5 percent and computer software giant SAP [FRE:SAPG] was up 0.4 percent.
And analysts expect more of the same as other technology companies in the U.S., like bellwether Intel (INTC: down $0.38 to $34.46, Research, Estimates) , IBM (IBM: up $0.65 to $118.70, Research, Estimates) and Microsoft (MSFT: up $0.62 to $69.09, Research, Estimates), report fourth-quarter earnings this week.
"It's going to be a tech week" Mark Tinker," analysts at Commerzbank, told CNN. "We expect more of the same as Marconi. The climate is not great and this creates a very jumpy market."
In the utilities sector, France's Suez (LYOE) jumped more than 5 percent following recent upbeat comments from its management. German utility E.ON (EONG) was up 2.5 percent in late trading after the company said it expected to get approval for a hydropower joint venture with Austria's Verbund.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index rose 1.3 percent and Milan's MIB30 index was up 1.3 percent, while the SMI in Zurich dipped 0.1 percent.
In the U.S. on Tuesday, Wall Street was higher in early trading after some positive earnings reports and strong December retail sales.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 13.25 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,003.99, while the Dow Jones industrial average was up 82.96 points, or 0.8 percent, to 9,974.38. 
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