Europe markets end higher

March 19, 2002 Posted: 1:59 PM EST

LONDON, England - European markets ended higher on Tuesday, led by auto stocks, and supported by hopes for positive economic signs from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent to 5,316.1, while the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris gained 0.4 percent to 4,644.93 and Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was up 0.7 percent to 5,464.32 in late trading (the German market was set to close at 1900 GMT). The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, rose 0.4 percent.

The auto sector got a boost from BMW (FBMW), which said on Tuesday it expected to post record sales this year despite a decline in global car demand. The German luxury carmaker was up 1.4 percent in late Frankfurt trading. Volkswagen (FVOW) was up 2.2 percent, while French carmakers Renault (RENA) and Peugeot (PEUP) both rose 1 percent.

French utilities company Vivendi Environnement (PVIE), gained 3 percent after announcing its USFilter division had won a $1.5 billion contract to manage water services in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Environnement said the contract represented the biggest public-private partnership ever in the U.S. water sector. Environnement's parent Vivendi Universal (PEX), Europe's biggest media group, gained 2.1 percent after the announcement.

Deutsche Telecom (FDTE) was down 2.1 percent in late trading in Frankfurt after saying it would slash its dividend by 40 percent and push back the deadline for cutting its 61.2 billion euro debt to the end of 2003, from the end of this year. France Telecom (PFTE), labouring under the weight of a 65 million euro debt pile, gained 1 percent after trading lower for most of the session.

Finland's Nokia, the world biggest mobile phone operator, lost 2.5 percent, while Ericsson, the world's biggest supplier of high-speed mobile networks, dropped 2.8 percent. French telecoms equipment maker Alcatel (PCGE) fell 3.2 percent and German tech giant Siemens (FSIE) was down 0.5 percent in late trading.

Among Europe's smaller markets, Amsterdam's AEX index rose 0.8 percent and Milan's MIB30 index added 1.1 percent, while the SMI in Zurich edged up 0.1 percent.

In the U.S. on Tuesday, markets held on to early gains ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due out on later on Tuesday and a vote on the proposed $22 billion Hewlett-Packard/Compaq Computer merger.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 74.32 points, or 0.7 percent, to 10,652.07, while the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index rose 11.27 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,888.33.

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