Traders said the Microsoft break-up had already been factored into the market and was unlikely to have any bearing on the session. Instead, investors were likely to look to the monthly report from the National Association of Purchasing Management on the state of US manufacturing which could provide signs the economy was in danger of overheating.
Dutch market remains positive Dutch shares remained in positive territory throughout the morning.
Investors looked to tech shares following a strong close on the US Nasdaq index on Friday. The AEX index was last 3.43 points higher at 664.81. UPC topped the gainers, rising more than 7 per cent to recently trade at E42.85 as it recouped earlier losses. Shares in ING, the banking and insurance group, were last up 0.62 per cent to E60.39 following confirmation that they were to buy ReliaStar Financial, the US insurance company. KPN Telecom meanwhile, was last a little over 6 per cent higher at E117.55 on news of its talks with Telefonica, the Spanish carrier.