September 27, 2006	Wednesday	Ramazan 3, 1427

LONDON, Sept 26: European stock markets advanced on Tuesday, with the energy sector boosted by a slight recovery in crude oil prices, and after a bright overnight performance on Wall Street, dealers said.

In Paris, the CAC 40 index of leading shares jumped 1.05 per cent to 5,200.42 points, London's FTSE 100 won 0.74 per cent to 5,841.00 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.59 per cent to 5,936.68.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares increased 0.69 per cent to 3,848.58 points.

The euro stood at 1.2719 dollars.

Wall Street shares had powered higher on Monday as the market bounced back from last week's selloff and shook off fears about a major slowdown in the US economy.

Japanese share prices, meanwhile, slipped to a seven-week low point on Tuesday as investors took a cautious stance ahead of the naming of a new cabinet by incoming premier Shinzo Abe, dealers said.

European energy majors were given a boost as crude oil futures staged a modest rebound from Monday's six-month lows below $60 per barrel.

In Paris, shares in French oil giant Total leapt 1.53 per cent to 50.5 euros.

In London, Anglo-Dutch energy behemoth Royal Dutch Shell saw its 'A' shares gain 0.77 per cent to 1,705 pence, while BP rose 0.71 per cent to 567.5 pence.

In Madrid, Spanish energy company Repsol added 0.60 per cent, while Spain's Ibex 35 shares index rose 0.37 per cent to 12,439.50 points. Back in the French capital, Mittal Steel shares bounced 2.93 per cent higher to 26 euros.

Mittal Steel owner Lakshmi Mittal, the driving force behind the creation of the new steel giant Arcelor Mittal, said he has been pleasantly surprised at how the tie-up is working in an interview in The Financial Times on Tuesday.

Mittal swallowed Arcelor in a 25-billion-euro deal in July after a bruising half-year battle to acquire the company.

In London trade, Hanson shares rocketed 7.64 per cent to 740 pence as bid speculation mounted over the British building materials group.

Across the Atlantic on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.59 per cent to 11,575.81 points while the Nasdaq composite advanced 1.36 per cent to close at 2,249.07.

The broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index increased 0.88 per cent to 1,326.37 points.

The market had wobbled after a report showing US existing home sales fell 0.5 per cent in August, as the glut of homes on the market increased and prices dropped. But the decline was not as bad as analysts had feared.

In Asia on Tuesday, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 0.49 per cent to 15,557.45 points -- the weakest close since August 8.

Dealers said the market was reluctant to follow Wall Street's positive lead with foreign investors in particular unsure about the policy plans of Abe after he took over from the reform-minded Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index closed 1.36 per cent lower at 17,308.08 points, as recent big gainers such as China Mobile and mainland financial firms saw heavy profit-taking in late trade, dealers said.—AFP