April 27, 2007	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 09, 1428

LONDON, April 26: Europe's main stock markets gained ground on Thursday after a record overnight showing on Wall Street, and following another batch of positive earnings news.In late morning deals, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares gained 0.34 per cent to 6,483.60 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 added 0.67 per cent to 7,392.56 points in early afternoon trade and the Paris CAC 40 increased 0.13 per cent to 5,954.88.

The euro stood at 1.3612 dollars.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average share index had struck a record peak on Wednesday, vaulting the 13,000-point barrier for the first ever time as investors cheered ballooning corporate profits, dealers said.

The Dow rocketed by 1.05 per cent to a close of 13,089.89 points in frenzied trading as bullish investors propelled the index to new heights.

Japanese share prices jumped higher on Thursday as Tokyo investors also took their lead from Wall Street.

In Frankfurt, Commerzbank stock soared 2.27 per cent to 36.89 euros, after Germany's second-largest bank released ahead of schedule preliminary first-quarter key figures that beat analysts' expectations.

In Paris, France Telecom jumped 2.86 per cent to 21.56 euros after the telecommunications operator posted solid first-quarter sales that were also ahead of consensus estimates.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, ABN Amro shares climbed 0.80 per cent to 36.50 euros in Amsterdam as the Dutch bank opened up its books to a Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium, which had made an informal proposal to take over the group on Wednesday.

ABN Amro signalled Thursday a shift in its stance over the sale of a key US asset, LaSalle bank, which was already included in an agreed deal with Barclays.

In London trade, RBS shares slid 1.01 per cent to 1,976 pence and Barclays sagged 0.35 per cent to 721.50 pence.

In US deals on Wednesday, the tech-rich Nasdaq composite had closed up a robust 0.92 per cent at 2,547.89 while the broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index finished up a heady 1.01 per cent at 1,495.42 points.

The Nasdaq rose to its best close since February 2001 while the SP index finished at its highest level since April 2000.

Wall Street analysts said the 13,000-point mark was a psychological milestone for the Dow and would likely help cement market optimism despite concerns about US economic growth and a widespread housing slump.—AFP