European markets took their cue from the strengthening euro on a day of limited news flow.
With the accent firmly on leading stocks, the FTSE Eurobloc 100 index gained 18.16 or 1.8 per cent to 1,035.02. The FTSE Eurotop 100 index added 24.24 at 2,858.60 and the FTSE Eurotop 300 11.03 to 1,250.92.
In Frankfurt, the Xetra Dax index ended 76.83 higher at 5,087.30 after reaching a peak for the session of 5,102.56.
Telecoms stocks led the upturn following active buying of Deutsche Telekom as the company briefed analysts on its $11 billion purchase of One-2-One, the UK mobile phones group.
Amid widespread speculation that Telekom had more deals up its sleeve, the shares jumped 85 cents to €38.35. Mannesmann was also in demand, adding €3.58 at €132.58.
Chemicals had a mixed day with Degussa-Huels finding sellers but Schering moving ahead after an upgrade at Merrill Lynch, which is taking a bullish stance on upcoming third-quarter earnings.
Schering gained €4.88 at €101.70. In contrast, Degussa lost 35 cents at €37.50 on weak nine-month results, notably a 10 per cent sales decline for the period. Dresdner Bank stood out among financials, rebounding from recent weakness with a €1.30 gain to €39.30.
Paris added 69.26 at 4,292.90 on the CAC-40 index in a session dominated by heavy trading in oil stocks.
Putting aside August doldrums, TotalFina and Elf Aquitaine racked up a combined turnover of 376 million as the buyers moved in with a vengeance amid a welter of rumour pointing to a compromise on the groups' clash of takeover bids.
Both companies are bidding for each other, but yesterday a UK press report sparked hopes for an amicable settlement. Elf gained €6.30 at €163.80 and TotalFina rose €4.70 at €119.60.
Amsterdam stayed firm, adding a further 8.29 at 543.39 on the AEX index in a performance strongly supported by a 6.2 per cent advance from Akzo Nobel, the chemicals giant.
Akzo Nobel jumped €2.50 to €42.65 on the news that it had received a bid for Acordis, its struggling fibres unit. The announcement prompted an upgrade to "buy" from Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Royal Dutch was also in demand, adding a further €1.50 at €61 as Moscow crashed more than 11 per cent in early trade on news that President Yeltsin had fired his Prime Minister Mr Sergei Stepashin, and appointed Mr Vladimir Putin, chief of the federal security services, as acting prime minister.
But the losses were pared as foreign investors decided that the sharp drop in prices had opened the way for bargain-hunting.
