Frankfurt Dax: 2390.53 (-8.23)

German shares ended bourse trade slightly lower, interrupting its record run due to the suspension of Daimler-Benz shares because of news it would post a 1995 loss of six billion marks. Shares in Stuttgart based Daimler were indicated at about DM755 in grey market dealings between banks after the news and then rose to about DM762, traders said.

Paris CAC-40: 1954.42 (-9.86)

The Paris Bourse suffered a moderate loss due to profit taking after last week's gains and financial issues were hit particularly by negative expectations, traders said.

Milan MIBTEL: 9717 (-116)

Shares in Milan fell a hefty 1.18 per cent against the background of, the continuing Italian government crisis. Early in the day, investors in Milan thought the crisis might be resolved quickly, but optimism then waned that a new prime minister would be found shortly and pessimism was intensified by a statement by Bank of Italy governor Mr Antonio Fazio ruling out any interest rate cuts in the near future.