European shares higher

European shares edged higher on Monday, with tech stocks Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia lifting the sector after a ratings upgrade. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed 0.1 percent higher at 1,125.47 points on volumes of 65 percent of the 90-day average, reflecting caution amid ongoing turmoil in the Arab world and Japan's nuclear crisis.
Gains in technology stocks supported the market, with Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia up 7.9 percent and 3.6 percent respectively on the back of an investment rating upgrade by Goldman Sachs. Analysts said the broader equity market was in a consolidation phase, hovering below key resistance levels, which, if significantly breached, could signal fresh highs.
The STOXX Europe 50, the eurozone's blue chip index, was up 0.1 percent at 2,914.76 points, to hover around its 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of a low in November to a high in February. The market was expected to stay rangebound in the run-up to US non-farm payrolls data for March due on Friday, which was expected to show an addition of 190,000 jobs after a rise of 192,000 in February.
Banking stocks were on the rise. The STOXX Europe 600 banking index rose 0.5 percent, with traders citing bullish broker comments from Barclays and J.P. Morgan. A Reuters report on a possible liquidity deal by European Central Bank (ECB) for troubled eurozone banks also helped reassure investors.
Automakers, however, limited further gains on the index, with the STOXX Europe 600 auto index down 0.4 percent on uncertainty over the impact of Japan's nuclear crisis on global supply chains. Portugal's PSI 20 ended 0.3 percent lower and Portuguese bond yields hit new highs as the country's political turmoil added to uncertainty over its fiscal situation. The FTSEurofirst 300 rose 3.3 percent last week, after four consecutive weeks of falls, and is up 0.3 percent year to date.