European shares recovered late from a dip induced by weaker US factory data as merger activity within the telecoms sector supported the broader market.
Telecom Italia was the day's biggest gainer after US phone giant AT&T and Mexican cell phone operator America Movil put in a bid for the company.
In London the FTSE 100 ended up but lost some earlier gains after a report showed weaker than expected US factory activity in March, rekindling concerns about the US economy. The FTSE 100 ended 7 points, or 0.12% higher at 6,315.
Hopes of consolidation in the telecoms sector helped the market move higher today, despite disappointing US manufacturing figures casting a slight shadow during the afternoon.
Cable & Wireless climbed 4.1p to 170.7p while BT was 6.25p higher at 310p. Vodafone - lower on Friday after a disappointing trading update - rose 1.1p to 136.6p.
The DAX in Frankfurt ended at 6,937 points, up 20 or 0.29% and the CAC-40 closed at 5,645 points, up 11 or 0.20%.
In Dublin, the ISEQ closed down 34 points at 9,375 with AIB down 63 cent at 21.57 after news that the sub-prime lending problems in the US would affect earnings at US bank M&T, which it owns 22% of.
As Europe markets closed the Dow Jones was unchanged and the Nasdaq was down 0.35%.
M&T Bank saw its shares drop 8.7% on the NYSE a few hours before the close.
Earlier, in Tokyo the Nikkei started the new fiscal year down 1.5% as investors sold recent gainers. The Nikkei lost 259 points to 17,028.
