CRH Chief Executive Liam O’Mahony rings The Opening Bell on April 4, 2006 at the New York Stock Exchange. CRH is the largest US building materials group.

Dublin-headquartered CRH, the largest building materials group in the United States, tops the list of big European companies in respect of dollar exposure with US sales accounting for 49% of total revenues, ahead of Europe's biggest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline which is at 45.4% and DaimlerChrysler at 44.7%.

European stocks rose Wednesday, snapping the longest losing streak in 15 months, after the world's biggest mining group  BHP Billiton said it may seek acquisitions, boosting optimism that takeovers will increase in the mining industry.

Volkwagen AG, MAN AG and EMI Plc also rose on speculation the companies may be in the market, adding to a record year of acquisitions in the region.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.8 percent to 352.2 in early afternoon trading, with all 18 industry groups gaining. The Stoxx 50 and the Euro Stoxx 50, both rose 0.6 percent.

The dollar is trading at $1.3161 against the euro, at 1:00 p.m Irish time Wednesday.

Shares of dollar-sensitive exporters to the US, including many car makers and technology companies, have been under pressure this week because of the strength of the euro.

Bernd Meyer, strategist at Deutsche Bank, has been reported as saying that the potential fall-out of the dollar's decline should not be exaggerated.

"At $1.30 some companies will see an impact relative to $1.25 but unless you expect it to move a lot further in the short term, it is not going to kill companies here in Europe."

Meyer says that European equities could still become more attractive to investors, as the gain in the euro's value could be greater than the impact on companies' earnings growth. Compared with a decade ago, companies were also better hedged, having shifted production to the dollar area.

On Tuesday the German industry federation said that German companies were better insulated than peers. Jürgen Thumann, president of the BDI federation, said in remarks to reporters in Berlin that "companies had adjusted to live with" an exchange rate of $1.30 to the euro, adding that "even if this increased by a few cents it would not weaken the basis of our business", even given the country's strong reliance on exports.

Germany is seen as less exposed to the dollar's decline because of its manufacturers' focus on relatively high value added products.

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