(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 12 nov - European shares traded mostly higher at midday, lifted by optimism over a potential end to the US government shutdown and expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts in December.

Sentiment improved after weaker than expected US ADP data showed a decline in private employment for October, reinforcing bets on monetary easing.

Investors also focused on the final stretch of the third quarter earnings season and awaited the House vote on a spending package expected to end the record-long shutdown.

On the data front, Italy's seasonally adjusted industrial production rose 2.8% in September from the previous month and 1.5% year on year, driven by gains in computer, food and pharmaceutical manufacturing, Istat reported.

At 1045 GMT, Frankfurt's DAX was up 1.15% at 24,372.23 points, Paris's CAC 40 gained 1.03% to 8,240.46, Milan's FTSE MIB added 1.17% to 44,957.00 points, while London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.11% to 9,888.85 points and Madrid's IBEX 35.

advanced 1.10% to 16,578.82 points.

(RADIOCOR) 12-11-25 12:02:50 (0323) 5 NNNN