Another session of moderate trading saw Paris move lower in the wake of softness for technology leaders.
France Telecom ended off €5.60 at €157.90 while Thomson-CSF fell €1.40 to €40.60. STMicroelectronics came off €1.75 at €70.35. The CAC 40 index shed 18.17 at 6,568.09.
Gainers were largely in the old economy sectors. Michelin rose another 94 cents to €34.50, Renault €1.05 to €45.20 and insurer Axa €4.70 at €170.1.
On the broader market, Castorama, the DIY retailer which is controlled by the UK group Kingfisher, rose €11.50 to €275.5 after Deutsche Bank increased its target price to €320.
Moulinex was one of the day's biggest decliners, falling 81 cents or 12.8 per cent to €5.53. Late on Monday, the home appliance group reported heavier losses and problems in merger talks with Brandt, a subsidiary of Italy's El.Fi.
Frankfurt clawed back above the 7,000 level as the Xetra DAX index pushed higher in late trading.
Utility group E.on lost ground as a big line of stock came on offer. HypoVereinsbank put 14.4 million shares into the market at a discount that was said to run as high as 6 per cent.
E.on, the new name for the newly merged Viag and Veba, fell €2.28 or 4.1 per cent to €51.22. RWE lost 81 cents at €35.28.
Other weak features included Adidas Salomon and BMW. The sportswear leader shed €2.24 at €57.00 and BMW came off 48 cents at €31.03.
Deutsche Bank stayed in demand, adding a further €1.09 at €85.60. HypoVereinsbank improved 89 cents at €66.30. Infineon Technologies added €5.08 to €92.50, a fresh high for the year.
The Xetra DAX index was up 29.47 at 7,056.66 at 5.30 p.m. German time.
Amsterdam saw steady selling of technology leaders and the AEX index ended 2.60 lower at 683.41. Philips fell €1.45 to €52.90 in 14.7 million shares traded in spite of an increase in target price at Lehman Brothers from €55 to €65. KPN shed €1.36 at €47.50 amid regulatory concerns.
Cable television group UPC hit a session high of €34.59 before slipping back to €32.40, up 40 cents for a two-day advance of 10 per cent on news of UK expansion. ASM Lithography improved €1.15 to €47.60.
