LONDON (ShareCast) - Europe’s main exchanges are mixed in early dealings, with France Telecom leading the way after it dropped plans to buy Nordic rival TeliaSonera.

France Telecom rallied in Paris after it announced it was “unable to reach agreement’ with TeliaSonera on the price. TeliaSonera was sharply lower.

Alcatel-Lucent advanced after Merrill Lynch upped its stance on the shares to 'neutral' from 'underperform' on valuation grounds.

High crude oil prices near $142 a barrel boosted energy stocks. Total and Shell were going well.

Crude for August delivery reached a best ever $142.99 on Friday after a prediction from OPEC’s president that prices could hit $170 this summer.

The German Dax is 45 lower points at 6,376, the French CAC is 1 point better at 4,397, while the Swiss market lost 8 points to 6,853.

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