LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Leading European shares closed higher today, shrugging aside a weak and volatile showing on Wall Street with technology and staffing sectors in the spotlight after strong earnings news from heavyweights Ericsson and Randstad.
At the European close, the DJ STOXX 50 index was 44.16 points higher at 3,210.45, while the DJ STOXX 600 index was up 4.05 points at 321.70.
On Wall Street, by Europe's close, the DJIA was 88.58 points lower at 12,760.37, while the S&P 500 index was down 5.73 points at 1,383.09, and the Nasdaq composite index was off 31.62 points at 2,397.30.
U.S. stocks fell back, having opened higher, after the final reading of the April Reuters/University of Michigan index consumer sentiment index showed a fall to 62.6, from an initial reading of 63.2 in early April.
Economists polled by Thomson's IFR Markets had expected sentiment to remain unchanged at 63.2 in late April.
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