Bourses mostly picked up from early lows, but still faced a choppy afternoon in spite of benevolent US inflation data, which calmed fears about the possibility of a rate rise at the Fed policy-setting committee's next meeting on October 5th.
The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index closed 3.39 or 0.3 per cent lower at 1,102.93. The FTSE Eurotop 100 fell 9.25 or 0.3 per cent to 2,984.83, while the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 settled 2.94 or 0.2 per cent down at 1,312.99.
Paris suffered a third successive fall as several key stocks came off sharply. The CAC-40 index declined 35.37 or 0.8 per cent to 4,662.02.
Profit-takers moved in on oil stocks after the sector's strong recent performance. TotalFina dipped €5 or 3.8 per cent to €126, while Elf Aquitaine ended €6.90 or 3.7 per cent lower at €181.5. Cap Gemini, the software and computer services group, fell €7.70 or 4.4 per cent to €169.30 on news of a broker downgrade and disappointing results from its US rival, Oracle.
Frankfurt finished marginally below par after the US data had picked prices up from their lows and taken the market into positive territory. The Xetra DAX index finished 14.29 weaker at 5,387.18. BMW put on 77 cents to €30.86, rebounding from Tuesday's 3.7 per cent tumble on news that the company expected nine-month sales at its British Rover subsidiary to fall 29 per cent.
DaimlerChrysler lost €1.15 to €70.85 as some investors grew cautious at news that the United Auto Workers' union had extended talks with the company indefinitely following five unauthorised strikes at its US truck and parts plants. Volkswagen was 93 cents weaker at €55.77.
Insurer Allianz put on €6.20 to €253, much of it before news that first-half premium income rose around 19 per cent.
Metro put on 79 cents to €54.51 and Karstadt jumped €5.91 to €438.01 in spite of news of a fall in German retail sales.
Against the trend, SAP lost €15 to €419.50, following the lead of US software giant Oracle overnight after its quarterly results disappointed some investors. Lufthansa gave up 55 cents to €18.30 on profit-taking and the added uncertainty of higher oil prices.
Amsterdam ended almost flat despite a sharp fall by Baan, the software company, on news of the troubles at Oracle. The AEX index ended at 582.84, up 0.08. Baan ended 75 cents or 5.1 per cent lower at €14.05.
Milan was flat, although the participants in the insurance sector merger saga remained at centre stage. The Mibtel index eased 17 to 23,986.
Helsinki closed little changed on a day of mixed corporate fortunes. The Hex index finished at 7,794.92, up 39.23 or 0.5 per cent.
