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To: 2MAR$ who wrote (78725)	10/18/2002 3:21:30 AM
From: 2MAR$	Respond to of 208838

Euros score gains at open as Microsoft inspires By Alison Tudor LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - European equities climbed at the open on Friday, led by technology stocks after the world's biggest software maker Microsoft's <MSFT.O> quarterly results beat expectations. However there were casualties. Sweden's Ericsson <ERICb.ST> was seen opening lower in Stockholm after it cut its forecast for the sales of its key product mobile systems. But traders were in no mood to question the recent sharp rally in equities that has driven indices over 14 percent above last week's five-and-a-half year lows. "Markets are driven by the positive comments from companies, as investors scramble to cover short-positions," said Gert de Mesure, head of equity strategy at Delta Lloyd Securities in Antwerp. <<< "The danger is that once these short positions are squared, the negative factors will hold sway again as hedge funds reopen short," he added. >>> Insurers were sharply higher as investors removed short positions and calculated the recent upswing in equity markets will ease pressure on solvency ratios. At 0706 GMT, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index <.FTEU3> of pan-European blue chips was 0.96 percent firmer at 923 points while the narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index <.STOXX50E> was 1.55 percent stronger at 2,576 points. In New York the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed 2.97 percent firmer and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> ended 3.24 percent higher. U.S. equity index futures suggested stocks will build on their overnight gains at the open on Wall Street. Gains after the end of official trading were spurred by news that U.S. software giant, Microsoft's earnings more than doubled, topping cautious Wall Street estimates. Microsoft also raised its full-year revenue and earnings outlook. ((Alison Tudor, European Stock Markets team +44 20 7542 8434, fax +44 20 7542 3722, alison.tudor@reuters.com)) ((Xtra clients: Double click on topnews.session.rservices.com to see Top News Pages in multimedia Web format. If you cannot access the page, ask your IT department to check your Internet firewall settings. To see the technical advisory, click on <C9991>.)) MORE * end of story *