Frankfurt Dax:3567.22 (-311.90)

Germany's battered blue-chip DAX index slashed its losses in afternoon trade as the Dow battled its way into positive territory, but still ended the day nearly 6 per cent lower. Analysts said the market's early 13 per cent fall to a six-month low of 3366.03 had been overdone.

Paris CAC-40: 2651.33 (-118.31)

The Paris Bourse lost 4.27 per cent though the CAC-40 had been off by a thumping 10.6 per cent at its low point for the day before rallying in the wake of a Wall Street rebound. French shares had been showing a loss of 7.84 per cent in early afternoon trading but several top stocks were reserved until sudden demand could be matched with sellers.

Milan Mibtel: 14343 (-921) Italian shares pared earlier losses after a much-feared secondday sell off on Wall Street did not materialise. The all-share Mibtel Index closed at 6.7 per cent lower at 14,344 points, after falling as low as 13,728 earlier, to post its biggest single one-day loss.