Frankfurt DAX: 4,278.76 (+53.98)

German shares ended the day's trade more than 1 per cent higher, tracking Wall Street's move into positive territory. Dealers said the dollar and the Dow were dictating the tone in a market lacking little other fresh impetus.

Paris CAC-40: 3052.02 (+51.55)

French shares surged on the back of a firm dollar and gains on Wall Street after better-than-expected earnings. The CAC-40 finished up 1.72 per cent, with Salomon pick Elf Aquitaine leading the advance on higher crude oil prices.

"The fact that some major shares climbed 4 per cent shows fund managers are afraid of being underweight. There's a lot of liquidity which is fuelling the rise," said Mr Nicholas Charvet, a technical analyst at Ferri brokers.

Milan Mibtel: 18,402 (+165)

Italian shares closed higher, lifted by gains in US stocks. The Clinton scandal and the Eurostat ruling took a back seat. The all share Mibtel index rose 0.9 per cent, and the narrower Mib-30 index was up 1 per cent at 27,073.