Author: Elena Todorova
123jump.com
Last Update: 1:25 PM EDT May 23 2007

[[European stock markets gained ground on Wednesday, reaching new multi-year highs with the help of strong telecom and automotive shares. Deal speculation in the Dutch mobile market boosted telecoms, with KPN rising 2.8%, Vodafone, climbing 3.7%, Deutsche Telekom, adding 2.9%, and France Telecom rising 2.1%. Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent shares advanced 2.8%. The German DAX Xetra 30 advanced 1%, the French CAC-40 climbed 0.5%, and the U.K.''s FTSE 100 added 0.2%.