Rising bond yields, pushed higher by stronger-than-expected growth in French gross domestic product, sent European markets lower. The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index came off 0.2 per cent at 1,101.55. The FTSE Eurotop 100 index lost 0.6 per cent at 3,018.85 and the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index shed 0.5 per cent at 1,322.12.
Frankfurt shed early gains to close with the Xetra DAX index off 9.19 at 5,391.36. The best of the day for the benchmark was 5,430.56.
Steady buying - said to be London based - sent Munich Re ahead amid continuing talk of sector consolidation. The stock added €2.70 at €188 while Allianz eased 30 cents at €251. Viag, locked in merger talks with fellow utility Veba, tumbled 70 cents at €21 on concern the negotiations had hit a sticky patch. RWE added €1.04 at €42.19.
Paris stayed ahead of most of the rest of Europe, lifted by strong performances by Renault, the carmaker, and Banque Nationale de Paris. The CAC-40 index ended 11.89 or 0.3 per cent up at 4,679.93.
BNP was the main gainer, climbing €2.95 or 4 per cent to €76.50. The stock has rebounded 6.3 per cent in the last three sessions after suffering a period of weakness on news it had failed in its attempt to take over Societe Generale.
Renault's rally came after it declined 2.9 per cent in the previous session, depressed by uncertainty about the future of its plan to link its truck business with Nissan Diesel of Japan. Alstom, the engineer, rose 91 cents or 3 per cent to €31.61 on news that it had won a €186 million contract to supply trains to the Buenos Aires metro system.
Amsterdam ended little changed after a day of narrow trading with the AEX index off 0.63 at 586.57. Philips stayed in demand, gaining ground on the strength of ADRs in New York and rising €2.35 to €102.25 for a two-day gain of almost 6 per cent.
Madrid drew back as Telefonica, the most heavily weighted stock, fell on profit-taking. The general index ended 7.68 or 0.9 per cent lower at 886.30. Telefonica's decline came after it had risen 4.5 per cent in two sessions on upbeat brokers' comments. The shares finished 32 cents or 2 per cent down at €15.31.
Prima Inmobiliaria and Zabalburu, the property companies, both continued to give back some of the gains they made on Friday on news they were in talks that might lead to a merger. PI fell 18 cents or 1.8 per cent to €9.69, while Zabalburu closed 23 cents lower at €9.65.
Helsinki was lower as forestry stocks slumped on export outlook worries and the Hex index finished 19.23 weaker at 7,626.93. Among the forestry groups, UPM-Kymmene lost 4 per cent to €31 and Stora-Enso fell 2.3 per cent to €12.50.
Brokers said the shares were hit by concerns about excessive euro strengthening. The sector has pulled back about 10 per cent from all-time highs posted last month after gaining around 80 per cent between January and mid-August.
