European markets edge higher

LONDON, England -- European markets edged higher on Monday, boosted by media and tech stocks, following a positive finish last week on Wall Street.

London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent to 5,072.6 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris is up 1.3 percent to 4,396.0, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax rose1.7 percent to 4,993.2.

In Amsterdam, the AEX index was up 1.2 percent, the SMI in Zurich also rose 1.2 percent and Milan's MIB30 index is up 1.1 percent.

Vivendi Universal rose 3 per cent after the French media giant confirmed it was buying the entertainment assets of USA Networks for about $10.3 billion.

The deal ended weeks of speculation that Vivendi would expand into the U.S. market. On Friday, the company also announced it had bought a stake in satellite-TV operator EchoStar Communications for $1 billion.

Britain's P&O Princess Cruises jumped 5.5 percent after it rejected a counterbid by U.S. cruise operator Carnival Corp. P&O has already agreed to merge with Royal Caribbeam Cruises, whose shares rose 0.4 percent.

In the technology sector, UK components maker ARM Holdings continuing to rebound, rising 5 percent, German chipmaker Infineon jumped almost 4 percent, and French telecom equipment maker Alcatel rose almost 1 percent.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom rose 2.4 percent after falling on Friday as investors sold its stocks to take a profit following recent strong gains.

In the U.S on Friday, Wall Street finished slightly higher -- ending a week of losses -- despite continuing signs of economic and corporate weakness.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 6.7 points, or 0.3 pecent, to 1,953.2. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 44.7 points, or 0.5 percent to 9,811.2.