May 3, 2006	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 4, 1427

LONDON, May 2: European stock markets rose on Tuesday, shrugging off an overnight fall by Wall Street, with London boosted by heavyweight oil and mining shares. However in Madrid, Spanish energy group Repsol saw its share price slide by more than 2.0 per cent in afternoon deals after describing as “worrying” a decision by Bolivian President Evo Morales to nationalize his country’s oil and gas resources.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares climbed 0.76 per cent to 6,068.70 points in afternoon trade, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index gained 0.45 per cent to 6,037.03 points and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.72 per cent to 5,225.50.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares increased 0.33 per cent to 3,852.62 points.

The euro stood at 1.2621 dollars.

European markets had been closed on Monday owing to the May Day public holiday, which saw traditional demonstrations for labour rights across the globe. However Wall Street and Tokyo’s stock market had remained open.

US shares had lost ground on Monday after a fresh jump in oil prices overshadowed positive news on mergers and a strong sales report from retail titan Wal-Mart, dealers said.

Japanese share prices closed higher on Tuesday as a weaker yen, which helps exporters, encouraged buying before a three-day national holiday beginning Wednesday.

In London, mining stocks were in demand after further gains by metal prices in recent days, including the cost of gold which hit a fresh 25-year high above $660 per ounce Monday. Other metals enjoying a boom in prices include copper, zinc and nickel.

On Monday, copper miner Kazakhmys jumped 4.44 per cent to 1,189 pence, Anglo-Australian resources giant Rio Tinto climbed 3.35 per cent to 3,117 pence and Anglo-Swiss peer Xstrata gained 2.97 per cent to 2,043 pence.

Among oil groups, exploration company Cairn Energy was the leading performer, increasing 3.83 per cent to 2,415 pence on broker upgrades and rebounding crude prices.

In Madrid, Repsol shed 2.11 per cent to 23.18 euros, while the IBEX 35 index on which it trades, edged up 0.03 per cent to 11,895.60 points.

Repsol accounted for 25.7 per cent of Bolivian gas production through its subsidiary Andina prior to nationalization of the industry.

The Spanish foreign ministry expressed “profound worry” overnight on Monday and Repsol referred to “worrying news” from the country on Tuesday.

Across the Atlantic meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.21 per cent to 11,343.29 points on Monday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.77 per cent to 2,304.79.

The broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index shed 0.41 per cent to 1,305.19 points.—AFP