Wall Street shares surged at today's opening bell, as the market cheered some strong earnings reports from the likes of Merck, SouthBell and Schering-Plough. The Dow Jones rose 74 points (0.68%) to 10,942, while the Nasdaq spiked 19.49 (0.96%) to 2,040 in the first exchanges.
European stock markets continued to climb this afternoon with a positive trading update from mobile phone giant Vodafone helping to offset disappointing earnings news in London. London's FTSE had jumped 67 points to stand at 5,786 by 3pm, with Vodafone shares up 2.7%. The Paris CAC added 50 points to 4,869 while the Frankfurt DAX had gained 64 to 5,515.
Boosted by stronger banking and construction stocks, Dublin's ISEQ index was up 54 points to 7,435 by 3pm this afternoon. Shares in CRH added 20 cent to €25.30, while Grafton had gained 34 to €10.14. As the warm temperatures continue, C&C shares were up another 20 cent to €8.40 this afternoon.
Earlier, Japanese share prices had closed slightly lower as investors fretted over Friday's losses on Wall Street. Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index fell 0.18% to close at 14,795.
