PARIS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - European shares rose early on Thursday, tracking Wall Street and Asian gains and erasing the previous session's dip, but the rise was limited as Holcim's poor earnings weighed on construction stocks.
At 0706 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,057.76 points, after losing 0.4 percent on Wednesday.
'After falling last week, European equity markets have regained a positive tone. It has been moving sideways for a while, but now investors are trying to anticipate what's coming next year in terms of economic growth,' said Achim Matzke, European stock indexes analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Holcim sank 4 percent after the world's second biggest cement maker in 2009 reported first-half earnings that missed analysts' expectations and the firm struck a cautious tone on its outlook, warning that government austerity programmes would limit infrastructure spending.
Rivals HeidelbergCement dropped 1.4 percent and Lafarge fell 0.4 percent.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson) Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS/OPEN (blaise.robinson@reuters.com ; +33 1 4949 5269, Reuters Messaging: blaise.robinson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
At 0706 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,057.76 points, after losing 0.4 percent on Wednesday.
'After falling last week, European equity markets have regained a positive tone. It has been moving sideways for a while, but now investors are trying to anticipate what's coming next year in terms of economic growth,' said Achim Matzke, European stock indexes analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Holcim sank 4 percent after the world's second biggest cement maker in 2009 reported first-half earnings that missed analysts' expectations and the firm struck a cautious tone on its outlook, warning that government austerity programmes would limit infrastructure spending.
Rivals HeidelbergCement dropped 1.4 percent and Lafarge fell 0.4 percent.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson) Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS/OPEN (blaise.robinson@reuters.com ; +33 1 4949 5269, Reuters Messaging: blaise.robinson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
