Pharma stocks lead European markets
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European stocks have notched gains as crude oil futures back away from record highs.
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New drug prospects push shares to a new 52-week high.
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European stocks touched two-month highs on Monday as tech shares rallied after STMicroelectronics   stuck to its full year forecast while government bond yields firmed on continued speculation about interest rate increases.
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Europe&#39;s main stock markets mainly rose as investors seized on the latest developments in the multi-billion-euro takeover battle for control of Dutch lender ABN Amro, dealers said Monday.
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European share indexes were slightly  ahead by late morning on Tuesday, with gainers led by Credit  Suisse after the bank set ambitious earnings targets and as a  survey showed a pick-up in German investor confidence this  month.
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European stock markets held near 28-month highs Thursday as investors stayed confident in the ability of firms to continue boosting profits in the face of the euro's extended push past &#36;1.30 to all-time highs.
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European stock markets fell strongly in early trading, weighed down by Wall Street's poor end to last week, with pharmaceuticals particularly vulnerable.
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European stock markets began the week in buoyant fashion, shooting higher in afternoon trading in the wake of gains on Wall Street and in Asia as oil price fears eased, dealers said.
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European equities advanced on Monday, supported by a recovery in drug heavyweights and a rise in Finnish mobile handset giant Nokia, but volumes were light before the Christmas holidays.
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European stock markets hit fresh  29-month highs on Tuesday, tracking gains in New York and after  HBOS said it will beat forecasts as well as buy back shares.
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Europe&#39;s main equity markets rose in initial trading on Thursday, with London&#39;s FTSE 100 index of leading shares gaining 0.35 percent to 6,590.20 points
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Deals worth nearly 15bn euros have boosted share prices as Europe's pharmaceuticals sector consolidates further.
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Consolidation in Europe's drugs   sector gathered steam on Thursday as Germany's Merck MRCG.DE   unveiled a $13.3-billion deal to buy Europe's top biotech firm   Serono SEO.VX, and Denmark's Nycomed won the drugs unit of   Altana ALTG.DE.
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European equity markets were higher on Thursday, buoyed by strong results from France Telecom  (NYSE:FTE)and Swiss engineering group ABB (NYSE:ABB) and prospects for restructuring at Italian insurer Generali.
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Commodity-related stocks propelled European shares to 5-1/2 year highs on Wednesday after a jump in oil and copper prices, while mergers and acquisitions buoyed selected chemicals and financial stocks.
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After a weak start, European equity markets rallied by mid-morning on Thursday, helped by merger activity in the pharmaceuticals sector and bid speculation in the Spanish property sector.
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European shares clung to 2-1/2 year  highs on Wednesday after U.S. blue chips hit their best level  in 3-1/2 years, with drugmaker AstraZeneca starring after Japan  gave the green light to a key drug.