Lakshmi Mittal said his self-named steel giant will be years ahead of his rivals after taking over European steel maker Arcelor SA, as he unveiled plans to invest up to $9bn (€7bn) in his native India.

A series of multibillion dollar acquisitions gave Wall Street a modest advance today although many investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates later in the week.

FRENCH stocks including Suez SA gained. Deutsche Bank AG upgraded the shares of Europe’s fourth-largest utility, while steelmaker Arcelor SA dropped.

A new round of strong earnings reports sent US stocks soaring for a second straight session Friday as investors shrugged off surprisingly slow growth in the nation’s gross domestic product.