Frankfurt saw weakness in much of its pharmaceuticals and chemicals sector in the wake of the Astra-Zeneca merger plan.

Schering was a notable exception, rising 2 deutschmarks to DM210 on the view that it looked increasingly like a merger candidate in the continuing consolidation of the European pharmaceuticals industry.

Hoechst, however, lost DM1.19 to DM67.40 on the view that it faced increased competition from the Astra-Zeneca merger. The German company is undergoing a life-sciences merger with France's Rhone-Poulenc.

Bayer, another possible merger candidate, put in an early spurt to DM67.10 but turned back to close DM1.35 easier on the day at DM64.65.

The broad market was weak, unmoved by news of little changed consumer prices in October. The Xetra DAX index finished 31.62 easier at 4,676.57.

Paris ended 7.20 higher at 3,772.61 on the CAC-40 index after a day of narrow trading and moderate volume.

Both Thomson-CSF and STMicroelectronics jumped more than 6 per cent, gaining 12.90 french francs to Ffr214.90 and Ffr26 to Ffr440 respectively. Big losers on the day included Renault, off Ffr9.90 or 3.8 per cent at Ffr248.

Insurers were mixed after an upgrade for Axa-UAP and AGF. The former dipped Ffr4 to Ffr725 while AGF gained Ffr3.50 to Ffr331.50. Sanofi responded to the news of the Zeneca-Astra merger with a rise of Ffr22 to Ffr949.

Amsterdam led the performance charts in Europe, rising when most leading markets lost ground.

Milan edged down on a subdued day's trading. The Mibtel index ended 71 or 0.3 per cent lower at 21,923.