European shares climbed on Monday, inspired by a rally on Wall Street, while BASF rose nearly 2 percent after the German chemicals group said it plans to double the size of its share buyback programme. Dutch retailer Ahold gained 3 percent to 5.48 euros after it agreed to sell its Spanish assets to venture capital group Permira for 685 million euros. Shares in oil major BP were flat at 540 pence on disappointment over the company's trading statment. By 0720 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of pan-European blue chips was up 0.76 percent at 1,012.1 points. The narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index <.STOXX50E> rose 0.9 percent to 2,821.3 points -- a level last struck on July 1. European shares had put on strong gains on Friday, helped by encouraging U.S. economic data and a new dip in oil prices. U.S. stocks rallied after software stocks boosted the Nasdaq to its highest close in about three months. In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average ended 1.1 percent higher at 10,192.65 points, and the tech-laced Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.4 percent to 1,942.2 points.
BASF,TECHS
Shares in BASF, the world's top chemicals company by sales, rose 1.9 percent to 49.7 euros on news the company plans to increase its share buyback programme to 1 billion euros from 500 million euros. The company said the buying may begin immediately. Meanwhile, oil prices slipped slightly on Monday to $49.75 a barrel after a threat to Nigerian crude flows receded. Autos <.SXAP> were the top sectoral gainers, advancing 1.94 percent, helped by BMW's late Friday news of a 31-percent rise in U.S. vehicle sales. Chip makers put on strong gains, tracking a rise in the sector's shares on Wall Street. German's Infineon gained 3.1 percent while Franco-Italian STMicroelectronics put on 2.1 percent and Dutch chip maker ASML rose 3.7 percent. The DJ Stoxx tech sector <.SX8P> rose 1.48 percent. Semiconductor-related stocks helped the Nasdaq rally on Friday after JP Morgan raised investment ratings on U.S. chip equipment makers///