October 13, 2006	Friday	Ramazan 19, 1427

LONDON, Oct 12: European stock markets rose on Thursday, shrugging off losses in Tokyo and on Wall Street overnight, as the Paris CAC 40 hit the highest point for more than five years.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares won 0.30 per cent to 6,091.90 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index jumped 0.40 per cent to 5,334.63 points -- the highest level since June 2001.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 index gained 0.21 percent to 6,132.48 points and the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares increased 0.35 per cent to 3,981.27 points.

The euro stood at $1.2548.

Wall Street was upset on Wednesday by news that a small aircraft had slammed into a New York apartment building, but losses were limited after it appeared the crash was an accident, traders said.

Concerns over the trend of the US economy also resurfaced after minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting in September showed that a slowing economy and falling energy prices guided its decision to hold interest rates steady.

Japanese share prices ended slightly lower Thursday after a bumpy session as losses on Wall Street overnight and worries over North Korea kept investors cautious, dealers said.

French digital technology group Thomson led the Paris CAC higher on Thursday, gaining 3.63 per cent to 13.14 euros after an 8.2-percent jump in sales during the third quarter to 1.423 billion euros. The British mining sector lent support to the FTSE 100 meanwhile, bolstered by higher commodity prices.

Rio Tinto won 2.52 per cent to 2,640 pence, Anglo American climbed 2.43 per cent to 2,363 pence and Xstrata advanced 2.23 per cent to 2,201 pence.

On the downside, Corus Group slid 2.46 per cent to 466.25 pence on press reports that Indian peer Tata Steel was looking at a merger with the Anglo-Dutch steel maker, rather than a takeover, dealers said.

Corus was hit also by a broker downgrade and weak results from Russian steel group Evraz, which is seen as a potential bidder for Corus.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.13 percent at 11,852.13 points Wednesday.

The pullback came a day after the benchmark share index closed at an all-time high of 11,867.17.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq retreated 0.31 percent to 2,308.27 points and the broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index shed 0.26 per cent to 1,349.95.

On Thursday in Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index

ended 0.19-per cent lower at 16,368.81 points, as many players opted to lock in gains for a second straight session following the market's recent run up to a five-month high.

Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index ended virtually flat, gaining just 10.3 points, at 17,873.09, as investors turned cautious amid uncertainty over US economic prospects and interest rates, dealers said.—AFP