EUROPE: Technology and mining firms lift European shares

Gains from technology firms such as Nokia combined with strength in the mining sector to lift European shares on Friday, the last full trading session before Christmas.

Tech stocks rose after BlackBerry maker Research In Motion said third-quarter earnings more than doubled and released a better-than-expected forecast.

Shares of mobile phone giant Nokia gained 3.6 percent on hopes for sales of its high-end models. Other technology firms on the rise included telecom-equipment and phone maker Ericsson, up 3.9 percent, and software firm Dassault Systemes, which ended 3.6 percent higher.

By region, the German DAX 30 index climbed 1.7 percent to reclaim the 8,000 mark, ending at 8,002.67. The French CAC-40 index advanced 1.7 percent to 5,602.77, and the UK's FTSE 100 index rose 1.4 percent to 6,434.10.

Mining stocks on the move included Antofagasta, up 4.5 percent, and Vedanta Resources, up 4.1 percent, as gold and copper prices strengthened.

Gold for February delivery gained US$10.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the March copper contract rose US$0.1095, or 3.7 percent.

Mirroring Thursday's gains in the US, investors were shrugging off more bad news from the financial sector.

"The market is holding together. This suggests that people think there is still an opportunity for central-bank policy and solid growth momentum from outside the US to pull us through the credit crunch," said John Haynes, senior equity strategist at Rensburg Sheppards Investment Management.

Shares of French bank Credit Agricole rose 0.9 percent, less than the broader market, after writing down 1.6 billion euros (US$2.3 billion) because of CDO valuation and the situation at bond insurer ACA Financial Guaranty.

Shares of France's Societe Generale also lagged the market, trading up 0.3 percent after the bank said it was exercising a US$1.7 billion option to increase its stake in Russia's Rosbank to 50 percent plus one share and after it received a downgrade to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse, which argued SocGen may also need to mark down its CDOs.

Danone shares climbed 4.7 percent, the top performing French large-cap, after the company agreed to hold "peace talks" and suspend lawsuits with China's Wahaha (娃哈哈).

Danone has been at odds with its venture partner after charging that Zong Qinghou (宗慶後), director of their venture, built and owns a parallel network of manufacturers and distributors for Wahaha drinks outside the joint venture. Zong has alleged that Danone has invested in competing dairies.