London's FTSE 100 up 0.19%, Milan's FTSE MIB up 0.49% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan , 21 Aug - European share prices were slightly higher at mid-session as investors looked ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve's latest minutes later today and a speech from Fed chairman Jerome Powell Friday expected to pave the way for a September rate cut.

At 1043 GMT, London's FTSE 100 added 0.19% to 8,288.64 points while in Frankfurt the DAX added 035% to 18,419.65 points and in Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.34% to 7,511.54 points. Milan's FTSE Mib was up 0.49% to 33,238.00 points while in Madrid the IBEX 35 added 0.08% to 11,097.02 points.

Among specific stocks, in London shares of the UK construction and engineering company Costain jumped 4.86% after reporting strong first half results and announcing plans for a 10 million pound share buyback.

In Milan, shares of oil service provider Saipem were up 3.70% following a report it has been awarded a new, 2 billion dollar contract from Saudi Aramco.

In Copenhagen, shares of the Danish hearing aid retailer Demant were 2.37% higher in trade on the Copenhagen stock exchange, after Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation on the stock to "overweight" from "underweight" and lifted the target price to 320 crowns from 268.

And in Zurich, shares of Swiss-American eyecare group Alcon were down 1.77% in the wake of disappointing second quarter results.

AAA-Hob

(RADIOCOR) 21-08-24 12:50:40 (0243) 5 NNNN