Schroder Salomon Smith Barney (SSSB) led its second sale for Alcatel in seven months as the French telecoms firm disposed of its remaining shares in Thomson Multimedia, the consumer electronics group.

Alcatel took advantage of a rise in European share prices to sell its remaining stake on Thursday after the US Dow Jones Industrial average rose 488.95 points or 6.35%, on the previous day - its largest one-day percentage gain since October 1987. One banker close to the deal said: "A window of opportunity opened up after the gains in the US and Thomson Multimedia released good figures on Wednesday."