In Europe on Thursday, the Eurofirst 300 reached yet another 3-year high at the close, led by the technology, steel, and automobile sectors.

The pan-European index closed 0.51 percent higher at 1.165.43, having reached 1,170.34 earlier in the day.

Meanwhile in France, the CAC-40, open despite the Bastille Day holiday reached a 38-month closing high, finishing the day up 0.63 percent at 4,370.88.

Steelmakers, which suffered from a series of downgrades on Tuesday, recovered on Thursday as the sector hoped that the worst was over.

Arcelor gained 2.4 percent to €16.86, and ThyssenKrupp advanced 2.8 percent to €14.71.

Technology stocks gained on better-than-expected quarterly earnings reports from American companies AMD and Apple Computer.

Infineon was up 3.6 percent to €8.39, Phillips Electronics gained 1.4 percent to €22.68, and ASML advanced 1.7 percent to €14.24.

STMicroelectronics was up 2.9 percent to €14.80, also benefiting from rumors of joint venture talks with South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor.

In the auto sector, Daimler Chrysler gained 1.7 percent to €34.64, while Renault was up 2 percent to €75.55.