quarter results this week. Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML also rose 2 percent as traders expected the company to benefit from increased spending by Intel on chip factories. Other standout market movers included Axa, up nearly 1 percent after the French insurer announced plans to study the absorption of its Finaxa holding company to simplify its shareholder structure. Elsewhere, shares in financial adviser MLP surged 18 percent after some analysts deemed a forecast to boost profits by 82 percent by 2007 ambitious but possible. On the downside, Nestle shed 2.8 percent as the stock traded ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the food giant's latest pay-out.
