A positive end to trade on Wall Street, a strong dollar and relatively stable Asian markets gave Europe's traders a boost.

Volume was expected to be thin ahead of a three-day weekend in both Paris and Frankfurt.

Frankfurt

Shares were higher in early floor trade on speculation of mergers and takeovers in the German chemicals industry.

At 0910 GMT the DAX stood at 5,542.52, up 61.26.

The June DAX futures contract was 25.5 higher at 5,553.0, while the June bund futures contract was up 0.20 at 107.83.

Dealers said chemicals stocks had "exploded into life" on the speculation and were responsible for over half the gains.

One rumour circulating was that Hofmann La Roche and Bayer were considering taking over Hoechst and then splitting the Frankfurt-based company up.

Paris

Shares opened with modest gains. The CAC 40 was 31.62 points firmer at 4,046.54.

French unemployment figures showed a fall of 0.1% to 11.9% in March, although traders said they did not expect the figures to have much impact on share prices.