European shares were trading sharply higher in the wake of the strong finishon US stock markets at the end of last week. The FTSE-100 continued where itleft off Friday, with telecom stocks helping it rise strongly from the open. It isnow trading around 125 points higher at midday or over 2% up. Paris's CAC-40was up 2.8% and Frankfurt's Xetra Dax up over 3%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed at 13,862.31, up 648 points, buoyed by gains in high-tech stocks after the Nasdaq rebounded on Friday. Other Asian markets were also stronger, with the Hang Seng up 2.9%, South Korea up 1.5% and Taiwan 1.7% higher.