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Techs boost Europe markets
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April 10, 2001: 1:10 p.m. ET
Marconi and Siemens job cutting drives tech sectors, telecoms gain
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LONDON (CNN) - European main markets closed higher Tuesday, as cost-cutting job reduction plans by tech firms Siemens and Marconi boosted investor sentiment.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index ended 2.3 percent, or 129.2 points, higher at 5,792.5, with data and telephone service firm Energis (EGS) and cable and telecom company Telewest Communications (TWT) leading gainers.
In Paris, the blue-chip CAC 40 rose 2.7 percent, or 138.29 points, to touch 5,321.51, with telecom equipment maker Alcatel [PAR:PCGE} and consumer electronics firm Thomson Multimedia (PTMM) the main advancers.
Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax gained 2 percent, or 16.08 points, to reach 5,897.09, with Europe's largest software maker SAP (FSAP3) and Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) the top leaders.
Amsterdam's AEX index rose 2.3 percent and Zurich's SMI was 1.5 percent higher. The MIB30 in Milan rose 1 percent.
The broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index, a basket of Europe's largest companies was 2.4 percent higher, with the information technology hardware sub-index rising 7.3 percent and the computer software and services component up 7.2 percent.
In the U.S., stocks surged at midday Tuesday as investors bet that profits and sales will recover in the months ahead.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 10,000 for the first time in three weeks, gaining 223.88, or more than 2 percent, to 10,068.06.
The Nasdaq Composite index climbed 102.36 to 1,848.07, while the S&P 500 added 29.84 to 1,167.43.
In the currency market, the euro was down against the dollar, buying 88.89 U.S. cents, compared with 89.72 cents in late New York trading a day earlier.
Economists expected the European Central Bank to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, but they warned that move might not be enough to boost economic growth.
"Economic indicators are in place to justify a lower trend in interest rates,"
Ken Wattret, economist at BNP Paribas, told CNN.
"This interest rate cut, if it comes, is not going to solve the problem for the ECB," he said. "It's going to be a pretty tough second half of the year."
In London, data and telephone service firm Energis (EGS) rose 12.3 percent while cable and telecom company Telewest Communications (TWT) ended higher by 11.4 percent.
Consumer electronics firm Thomson Multimedia (PTMM) topped gainers in Paris, up 10 percent, while telecom equipment maker Alcatel (PCGE), which announced 1,100 job cuts in its U.S. operations last week, was up 8.4 percent.
Europe's largest software maker SAP (FSAP3) was 8.7 percent higher in Frankfurt and Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) rose 8.3 percent.
Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone handset maker, rose 6.9 percent in Helsinki, while Sweden's Ericsson gained 8.7 percent.
Marconi (MONI) rose 10 percent after the network equipment maker said it plans to cut 3,000 jobs that will result in annual savings of £200 million ($286 million) by the end the financial year ending March 2003.
German engineering and electronics powerhouse Siemens (FSIE) rose 3.1 percent after it said it was slashing 2,000 jobs from its three German mobile phone maker plants.
Among chip shares, Britain's ARM Holdings (ARM) gained 10.39 percent while Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics (PSTM) added 5.5 percent and German rival Infineon Technologies (FIFX) added nearly 5 percent
Information technology consultant Cap Gemini (PCAP) rose 6.5 percent.
Tesco (TSCO) fell 3.7 percent after reporting a 13 percent rise in pretax profit of £1.05 billion.
E.ON (FEOA) rose 2.8 percent a day after it offered  15 billion in cash and debt for UK peer Powergen (PWG), which agreed to the terms. Powergen was down 0.2 percent. 
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