German equities recovered from early weakness to close in Frankfurt with the Xetra DAX index up 1.99 at 4,956.53.

DaimlerChysler tumbled to 151.50 deutschmarks on rumours Deutsche Bank was set to place its 12 per cent stake in the motor giant.

The story, that the bank needed the money to help finance the take-over of Bankers Trust of the US, was subsequently denied, and Daimler shares ended off DM2.20 at DM53.

Hoechst dipped DM3.36 to DM75.00 on French confirmation that it was in link-up talks with Rhone-Poulenc. Schering, a joint venture partner with Hoechst, gained DM5.00 to DM208 after Schering said it was involved in the negotiations.

Paris absorbed broad weakness for most heavyweight shares to finish with the CAC-40 index up 10.46 at 3,849.84.

On a day of dull volume, banks rallied, but oils, Renault and France Telecom were all lower. Total lost 24.00 French francs at Ffr654 and Renault came off Ffr7.00 to Ffr230. However, the large banks provided good upside drive. BNP put on Ffr17.00 or 4.1 per cent to Ffr435 and Societe Generale gained Ffr24.00 to Ffr925.

Amsterdam traded narrowly in moderate volume to close with the AEX index down 1.76 at 1,114.75. The profit takers stayed firmly focused on Philips, but KLM continued to reach for the sky.

Milan resumed upward progress after a fall on Tuesday ended a run of six consecutive rises.

The Mibtel index closed 309 or 1.4 per cent higher at 22,159. The market has gained 6.7 per cent in the past week.

Madrid edged forward as its stocks experienced mixed fortunes. The Ibex-35 index of leading shares gained 35.8 or 0.4 per cent to close at 9,515.