European markets closed sharply higher Thursday on an upbeat outlook from mobile phone giant Nokia, a continuation of the mining stock rally and more mergers-and-acquisition news. Germany's DAX 30 gained 1.2 percent at 5,984, the French CAC 40 rose 1.2 percent at 5,240 and the U.K. FTSE 100 added 1 percent at 6,015. The DAX and CAC each hit multi-year highs. Nokia shares rallied 4.8 percent after the world's top maker of mobile phones lifted its industry outlook for cellular phones, citing strong subscriber demand. Nokia Corp said it now sees 15 percent or more industry-wide growth in 2006, from a previous expectation of 10 percent or more. Semiconductor stocks STMicroelectronics and Infineon Technologies advanced on the update since both makes chips for mobile phones, while telecom equipment maker Ericsson also gained in Sweden. European markets were also bolstered by resource stocks such as copper miner Kazakhmys, which gained 9.3 percent after reporting a 25 percent rise in 2005 net profit. --More 22 45 Local Time 19 45 GMT
