Markets in sombre mood

LONDON, England (CNN) -- European markets ended higher on Wednesday in subdued trading as bourses around the world paid respect to the victims of last year's September 11 attacks in the United States.

Financial markets halted trading for two minutes as a mark of respect for the victims of the terror attacks in the United States.

The London Stock Exchange, France's Euronext and Italy's Milan bourse fell silent at 1246 GMT -- the moment the first hijacked plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.

Trading on Wall Street was delayed by 90 minutes to allow the financial community to take part in memorial services in New York. (Full story)

London's FTSE 100 rose 0.8 percent to 4,210.7 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris climbed 3 percent to 3,397.02, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax was up 2.9 percent to 3,597.60 (the German market was set to close at 1800 GMT).

The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was up 2 percent, with the information technology, electronics and computer sectors leading the gains.

Analysts said many investors were waiting for the day to pass quietly before stepping back into the market.

"I don't see a wall of money coming in as the market needs to be cheaper before people will come in an buy stocks aggressively," Michael O'Sullivan, a pan-European equities strategist at Commerzbank, told Reuters.

Among the gainers across the continent, Nokia rose 7.2 percent to 15.11 euros, after its shares were hit on Tuesday when the world's biggest mobile phone maker lowered its sales targets for the third quarter. Nokia, however, stuck to its profit forecast on Tuesday. (Full story)

Rival Ericsson jumped 10.1 percent to 6.55 Swedish crowns, recovering some of its losses from the previous session as investors saw Nokia's sales concerns as an indication that Ericsson could also see a drop in revenue in the third quarter.

"Following yesterday's update [from Nokia] brokers are rejigging their analysis of Nokia and considering the group in a more positive way," Ollipekka Elovainio, a fund manager at Nordea Investment Management in Helsinki, told Reuters.

"Nokia is reasonably priced at these levels. It has proved it can produce impressive profit margins and deliver large quantities of new phones. Nokia is the obvious supplier for telecom operators."

Europe's largest phone company Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) was up 4 percent to 10.90 euros in late Frankfurt trading after Reuters quoted sources as saying the group would continue to reduce its investments to cuts its debt.

France Telecom (PFTE), Europe's second-largest telecom company, gained 2.7 percent to 11.04 euros after Le Figaro reported the company with the backing of the government has agreed to abandon its loss-making German mobile phone partner MobilCom. (Full story)

Orange (ORA), Europe's third-largest mobile phone operator, rose 10.2 percent to 5.39 euros in Paris, while UK rival mm02 (OOM) added 2.1 percent to 47.75 pence.

Bouygues (PEN), the French building and telecom group, added 9.1 percent to 26.19 euros. The company posted a stronger-than-expected jump in first-half profit as its telecom business made a profit.

Meanwhile, British Airways (BAY), Europe's biggest airline, dipped 0.7 percent to 136.50 pence, after declining earlier in the session. The carrier is expected to be officially dumped out of the London's benchmark FTSE 100 league of top companies. (Full story)

EMI (EMI), another company relegated from the FTSE 100, lost 2.7 percent to 173.75 pence. Richard Parsons, the chief executive of CNN parent AOL Time Warner, said he was hopeful a deal to buy the music group could be reached, although no talks are taking place at present. (Full story)

Media giant Vivendi Universal (PEX) rose 6.7 percent to 14.25 euros after a report that Chief Executive Jean-Rene Fourtou will meet with company executives in New York and Los Angeles this week to discuss future plans for the firm's U.S. entertainment divisions, including a possible stock offering. (Full story)

Dutch insurer Aegon was down 4.5 percent to 12.99 euros -- off its lows for the morning -- after the company said it was in talks on a financial restructuring with its major shareholder. (Full story)

The AEX index in Amsterdam rose 2.9 percent and the SMI in Zurich was up 2.5 percent, while Milan's MIB30 index gained 1.7 percent.

In the U.S. on Wednesday, the Nasdaq stock market was higher at the start of a shortened trading session as the markets commemorated the one-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

While the Nasdaq opened for trading at 1100 EST, the New York Stock Exchange delayed its open until 30 minutes after the conclusion of the memorial services at the site where the World Trade Center stood.

At 1115 EST, the Nasdaq composite was up 18.14 points to 1,338.23. The Dow Jones industrial average, with only Nasdaq-listed components Intel and Microsoft trading, gained 9.42 points to 8,612.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2.60 points to 912.18.