LONDON (AFP) - European stock markets rose slightly in early trading as dealers overlooked losses on Wall Street overnight and responded positively to some corporate news stories.
The London FTSE 100 index gained 0.08 percent to 4,552.10 points on Thursday, with the Frankfurt DAX 30 winning 0.41 percent to 3,957.83 points and the Paris CAC 40 climbing 0.11 percent to 3,695.96 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares edged ahead 0.12 percent to 2,767.19 points.
The euro stood at 1.2146 dollars.
The slim gains came despite a weak performance on Wall Street on Wednesday when a warning from Coca-Cola about weak sales and profits, coupled with tepid economic news, sent stocks sharply lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.84 percent to 10,231.36 points, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.99 percent to 1,896.52.
The Standard and Poor's 500 broad-market index retreated 0.71 percent to close at 1,120.37 points.
Asian markets saw mixed fortunes Thursday.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 0.14 percent to to 11,143.39 points.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed up 0.96 percent at 13,209.84 points.
In London Kingfisher shares rose 1.12 percent to 293.25 pence after the home-improvement retailer posted marginally better-than-expected interim results with an 18 percent surge in half-year profits.
The group reported a pretax profit of 346 million pounds (508 million euros, 617 million dollars) against a restated 292.2 million in the same period of the previous year and a consensus market forecast of 339.9 million.
Shares in mmO2 rose 0.54 percent to 93 euros after the Spanish newspaper Gaceta de los Negocios reported Telefonica could be considering a bid for the British mobile phone group.
Shares in European building materials stocks advanced on hopes that a deal on a US industry-funded pool to settle asbestos claims may be imminent, dealers said.
France's Saint-Gobain gained 1.59 percent to 42.75 euros in Paris, while Britain's Hanson jumped 3.42 percent to 401 pence in London.
The US Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle said Wednesday he would accept a Republican proposal for a 140 billion dollar asbestos victims' fund in an effort to move stalled congressional negotiations.