April 11, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 22, 1428

LONDON, April 10: Europe's main stock markets climbed on Tuesday, lifted by merger news and solid gains for miners, as traders returned to their desks after the Easter break, dealers said.Markets across Europe were shut on Friday and Monday for Easter public holidays.

In late morning trade on Tuesday, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.16 per cent to 6,407.60 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.45 per cent to 7,131.95, and in Paris the CAC 40 added 0.07 per cent to 5,745.48 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip shares won 0.22 per cent to 4,280.88. The euro stood at 1.3417 dollars.

Wall Street shares had closed mixed on Monday, with blue-chip issues buoyed by an upbeat survey of the US jobs market late last week and by lower crude oil prices, traders said.

In Paris early on Tuesday, PPR shares soared 2.48 per cent to 132.14 euros after the French luxury goods group said it has agreed to buy a 27.1-per cent stake in German sportswear specialist Puma and launch a full takeover offer.

The bid from PPR, which owns a range of top-end fashion brands including Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, values the German company at about 5.7 billion euros ($7.6 billion).

Shares in Puma surged 9.24 per cent to 343.28 euros, making them the biggest gainers on the mid-cap MDAX index on the Frankfurt stock exchange.—AFP