December 08, 2007	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 27, 1428

LONDON, Dec 7: Europe’s main equity markets advanced on Friday after another overnight rally on Wall Street, but some investors remained cautious before the release of all-important US jobs data, dealers said.

Of course, the focus is going to be on the non-farm payrolls data, said CMC Markets analyst Matt Buckland, in reference to the publication later Friday of the US employment report for November.

But we saw a solid rally on Wall Street overnight and that’s giving us the gains we’re seeing this morning.”In morning trade, London’s FTSE 100 index of leading companies added 0.95 per cent to 6,547.50 points. In Paris the CAC 40 won 0.85 per cent to 5,722.02 and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 0.59 per cent to 7,987.55 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares increased by 0.76 per cent to 4,448.26 points.

US stock markets rallied Thursday as US President George W. Bush announced a major mortgage rescue plan aimed at helping to stave off a wave of mounting home foreclosures.

The London market also rallied, with house builders topping the risers leader board on hopes of further British interest rate cuts.

Taylor Wimpey jumped 7.50 per cent to 214.25 pence, Persimmon leapt 5.73 per cent to 793.5 pence and Barratt Developments won 2.62 per cent to 460 pence.

The Bank of England trimmed its key rate by a quarter of a per centage point to 5.50 per cent on Thursday, the first reduction for more than two years.

In Frankfurt, Munich Re shares jumped 4.32 per cent to 130.55 euros on a report that a Swedish private equity firm has bought a 3.0-per cent stake in the German reinsurance giant.

In US deals on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.30 per cent to a close of 13,619.89 points, marking a second straight day of hefty gains.

The Nasdaq composite finished up a strong 1.60 per cent at 2,709.03, while the Standard and Poor’s 500 broad-market index gained 1.50 per cent to stand at 1,507.34 points.—AFP