October 19, 2006	Thursday	Ramazan 25, 1427

LONDON, Oct 18: European equities rose on Wednesday, in line with Asian trading, as investors shrugged off a sluggish overnight showing on Wall Street, dealers said.

They added that European indices remained within sight of recent multi-year record peaks owing to buoyant investor sentiment and weak crude oil price levels.

London's FTSE 100 index of top shares gained 0.55 perbcent to 6,141.90 points in early deals, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index added 0.48 per cent to 6,144.50 and in Paris the CAC 40 index won 0.49 per cent to 5,329.07 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares increased 0.44 per cent to 3,966.84 points. The euro stood at 1.2540 dollars.

US shares fell Tuesday as a potentially worrisome report on inflation prompted investors to lock in recent gains, with the Dow blue-chip index retreating from a run at the 12,000 level.

However, the Tokyo stock market finished in positive territory as the yen steadied and investors anticipated solid earnings reports.

London investors focussed Wednesday on the mining sector as metal prices forged ahead.

Rio Tinto saw its share price jump 2.58 percent to 2,744 pence.

The Anglo-Australian mining giant meanwhile said that production in the third quarter showed a record level of iron ore, but added that refined copper output fell as a result of a smelter shutdown.

Vedanta Resources added 1.53 per cent to 1,391 pence, Antofagasta gained 1.41 per cent to 502 pence and Anglo American increased 1.14 percent to 2,386 pence. Across in Paris, the share price of Mittal Steel won 2.08 per cent to 31.37 euros.

European stocks had retreated by more than 1.0 per cent on Tuesday from multi-year peaks as investors banked profits and mulled mixed US economic data and events in North Korea.

On Monday, London's prestigious FTSE 100 had closed at its highest level for more than five years, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 also enjoyed the best finish since 2001.

In Wall Street trading on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.26 percent to close at 11,950.02 points, one day after the blue-chip index set an all-time closing high and moved within three points of 12,000.—AFP