European Midday Update: Markets Struggle to Hit Stride

LONDON -- The market was off to a slow start Thursday morning, with the FTSE 100 down 14.9 points shortly after the opening, but since recovering to stand 24.6 points higher at 6383.9.

A little bit of uncertainty has crept into the techs this morning following a fall in the Nasdaq overnight. The Techmark index, having been marginally lower earlier on, edged forward 14.8 points to 3272.1.

Staffware continued to attract buyers and rose 125p more to 19.12 ($28.68), while Fibernet gained 70p to 15.57. However, ARM Holdings (ARMHY) dipped 29p to 563 before picking up to stand 8p cheaper on balance at 584, and BATM Advanced Communications slipped 62p to 37.87.

Vodafone AirTouch (VOD) took a breather after the recent activity and was unchanged at 305, but British Telecom (BTY) rose 6p to 975 and Colt Telecom (COLTY) was a few pence cheaper at 23.53.

There was a fresh stream of trading statements to keep dealers on their toes this morning. Railtrack was shunted into a siding after very poor annual results accompanied by a warning on current-year profits. The shares were down 15p at 825, having been 40p lower at one stage.

Drugstore chain Boots posted top-of-the range full-year pretax profits of 587 million, but the shares fell 27p to 530 as the company admitted there is some pressure on its margins. Credit Lyonnais has moved the stock from a "buy" to an "add" and it is expected that other brokers will trim their profits forecasts.

Barclays Bank (BCS) reported an upbeat first-quarter trading statement this morning and the shares rose 8p to 17.47.

Europe's other stock markets were mostly higher. The Xetra Dax in Frankfurt was up 74.7 at 7184.4 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 35.9 at 6462.2. The Neuer Markt's tech-heavy Nemax 50 index was down 21.6 at 5460.4.

In Frankfurt, financial shares were some of the biggest gainers, with Deutsche Bank (DBKAY) up 1.10 euros at 83.90 ($78.03) and its erstwhile partner Dresdner Bank (DRSDY) up 0.75 euro at 44.85. Munich Re rose a further 5.86 euros to 316.86 as investors continued to bet that earnings for the world's largest reinsurance company would improve from last year's disastrous results.

Telecom shares were mixed, though. Deutsche Telekom (DT) was down 0.50 euro at 66.40, while France Telecom (FTE) was up 1.00 euro at 158.00 and KPN (KPN) was up 1.50 euros at 98.50.

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