June 20, 2006	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1427

LONDON, June 19: European stock markets rebounded strongly on Monday, buoyed by the telecoms sector as Nokia and Siemens announced a merger of their equipment and network activities.

European indices shook off a downbeat performance by Japanese shares on Monday and flat finish by Wall Street ahead of the weekend.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares won 1.05 per cent to reach 5,656.00 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index jumped 1.55 per cent to 5,459.50 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 1.17 per cent to 4,749.92.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares advanced also by 1.17 per cent to 3,503.93 points.

The euro stood at 1.2584 dollars.

Finnish telecommunications group Nokia and German rival Siemens announced Monday a merger of their telecoms equipment and network activities, creating the third-biggest supplier worldwide.

In Frankfurt, the share price of Siemens surged 8.58 per cent to 68.20 euros. Nokia jumped 4.09 per cent to 16.29 euros in Helsinki trade.

The gains rubbed off on Alcatel, with the French telecommunications equipment group winning 3.31 per cent to 9.99 euros in Paris.—AFP