In London, Man Group gained after saying second-quarter sales were $3.8 billion as assets under management rose. Cadbury Schweppes declined. The world biggest confectionery company bought a Florida bottler to expand distribution in the southeastern U.S. Royal Dutch Shell slid after UBS downgraded the stock.

In France, Alstom rose after it posted stronger first-quarter figures. Another riser was Schneider Electric, maker of circuit breakers. The company must be compensated after the European Commission wrongly rejected a 2001 merger, a court ruled yesterday.

Advancers of the Day

Alstom rose 5.5% and Nokia rose 2.5%. Miners were also higher with Vedanta Resources rising 3.4% and Xstrata adding up 2.6%. BHP jumped 0.9 % and Anglo American, climbed 0.8%. Man Group increased 1.9%.

Decliners of the Day

Despite providing strong impetus to the market Rio Tinto declined 1.4%. Shell lost 1.3%. Whitbread, owner of the Premier Travel Inn budget hotel chain, dropped 3.4%. Cadbury shares slid 1.1%.

Currencies and gold

The euro traded at $1.3782, up from $1.3761 late Wednesday. The British pound traded at $2.0330, down from $2.0334. The dollar bought 122.14 Japanese yen, up from 122.04. Gold traded in London at $663.00 per troy ounce, up from $660.48 late Wednesday.