LONDON, Feb 27: European stock markets climbed on Monday as the takeover spotlight continued to shine on the energy sector, dealers said. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.43 per cent to 5,885.90 points in early deals, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 0.32 per cent to 5,888.69, while in Paris the CAC 40 sagged by 0.01 per cent to 5,073.42 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares won 0.15 per cent to 3,831.57 points.

The euro stood at 1.1847 dollars.

Wall Street shares had closed mixed on Friday as investors shook off news of an attack on a Saudi oil refinery.

Japanese share prices had finished higher on Monday, supported by fresh foreign investor interest after concerns they could be exiting the market had hit sentiment earlier this month, dealers said.

In European trading on Monday, the utility sector was in focus.

France’s state-owned Gaz de France (GDF) would absorb utility giant Suez to create one of the world’s largest gas companies, French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said Monday, providing the first official details of a deal announced at the weekend.

In reaction, the share price of GDF soared 1.44 per cent to 30.23 euros in Paris trading.

Suez, however, saw its share price plunge 4.84 per cent to 32.25 euros.

The tie-up, announced by French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, is seen as a move to fight off a potential rival takeover bid of Suez by Italian energy group Enel.

Across in Milan, shares in Enel sank 0.74 per cent to 7.08 euros, while Italy’s SP/Mib index rose 0.34 per cent to 38,251.0 points.

In London, National Grid, the biggest British supplier of gas, announced that it had agreed to buy US gas distributor KeySpan for $7.3 billion (6.13 billion euros) in cash, plus $4.5 billion in debt.

National Grid shares surged 1.14 per cent to 620.5 pence.

The share price of glass manufacturer Pilkington, meanwhile, soared 1.89 per cent to 161.5 pence after Japan’s Nippon Sheet Glass announced a friendly takeover costing 5.2 billion dollars, to become the world leader in flat glass.

Nippon Sheet Glass said it would offer 165.0 pence in cash for each Pilkington share, a 4.1 per cent premium to Friday’s closing price. Pilkington is listed on the second tier of the British stock market.

On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had shed 0.07 per cent to close at 11,061.85 points, after losing nearly 60 points at one point in the session.

The Nasdaq composite meanwhile rebounded with gain of 0.34 per cent to 2,287.04 and the broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index eked out a gain of 0.13 per cent to 1,289.43.

The market was pressured by a jump in crude on prices, which have since eased somewhat.

In Asia on Monday, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index finished 0.57 per cent higher at 16,192.95 points.

Hong Kong’s key Hang Seng Index closed 0.59 per cent up at 15,949.89 points.—AFP