January 15, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 05, 1429

LONDON, Jan 14: Europe's main stock exchanges edged higher on Monday after steep pre-weekend losses on Wall Street and ahead of a data-packed week, analysts said.

Cautious trade also prevailed as investors awaited earnings reports from major US financial institutions hit by the country's subprime housing crisis, they added.

In late morning trade, London's FTSE 100 index firmed 0.05 per cent to 6,205.20 points.

The Paris CAC 40 added 0.35 per cent to 5,390.11 and Frankfurt's DAX 30 won 0.25 per cent to 7,736.99 points near the half-way stage.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone shares increased 0.14 per cent in value to stand at 4,231.16.

The European single currency stood at 1.4888 dollars.

The London stock market was buoyed Monday by the real estate sector.

The Sunday Times reported over the weekend that British investor group Laxey Partners had unveiled a one-billion-pound (1.32 billion euro, 1.96 billion dollar) fund to target real estate shares.

On Monday, property groups Hammerson and Land Securities saw their share prices surge 5.57 per cent and 4.92 per cent to stand at 985.5 pence and 1,534 pence respectively.

In Paris, Alstom topped the risers board, jumping 3.24 per cent to 132.32 euros. The French engineering group was aided by speculation of a potential contract to provide a high-speed rail link between Buenos Aires and Cordoba.

In Frankfurt, German semi-conductors giant Infineon rebounded 2.66 per cent to 6.95 euros after sharp falls the previous week.

Across the Atlantic on Friday, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.91 per cent to close at 12,606.30 points, as the market reversed course after a two-day rally.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite slumped 1.95 per cent to 2,439.94 points and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index retreated 1.36 per cent to end at 1,401.02.

The market was hit by a warning from American Express late Thursday that “it is seeing signs of a weaker US economy,” with higher credit card delinquencies, forcing the firm to set aside 440 million dollars for writeoffs.—AFP