The Paris stock market followed: the CAC 40 index was showing a gain of 0.64 percent at 6,336.40 points. In Frankfurt, the Dax index pushed 0.51 per cent higher to 6,858.44 points. Gains were more muted in London, where the FTSE index of 100 leading shares climbed 0.35 percent to 6,356.8 percent. The euro was trading at 0.8743 dollars.

The markets took their cue from their US counterparts after the technology-rich Nasdaq gained 1.95 percent on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed a gain of 0.60 percent. But bullish sentiment was offset by another profit warning from a large US technology company, after Dell Computers warned that third-quarter revenue would fall short of expectations, largely due to European sales. Asian investors had given a mixed response to the Wall Street rally.

The Hang Seng index advanced 1.9 percent in Hong Kong, while the Nikkei-225 fell back 0.3 percent in Tokyo. The markets were awaiting the interest rate decisions of the euro-zone and British central banks later in the day, but most economists said they were not expecting a change in the interest rates of either region. In London, mobile phone giant Vodafone jumped 4.2 per cent to 260.25 points after a wave of positive reaction to its strategic alliance with China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd unveiled on Wednesday.

Other technology stocks rebounded in London after losses on Wednesday. Bookham Technologies advanced 3.9 percent to 2,986 pence, Marconi rose 2.6 percent to 924 pence.