French equities managed to sidestep most of the profit-taking that afflicted European bourses yesterday with Paris easing modestly to trim the CAC-40 index by 6.43 to 3,839.38.
Air Liquide jumped 54 French francs to Ffr966 after announcing plans for what brokers described as a strategically interesting takeover.
Valeo, a dull market lately, rose Ffr28 or 6.1 per cent to Ffr484, helped by a positive note from a local broker, Ferri.
Frankfurt pulled back as Monday's bank merger-inspired rally ran out of steam. The Xetra DAX index finished 69.97 lower at 4,954.54.
Financials fell prey to profit-taking after the previous session's excitement. Deutsche Bank lost 4.75 deutschmarks to DM104.60 as further details of its planned takeover of US Bankers Trust emerged. Dresdner Bank lost DM3.10 to DM68, Commerzbank fell 64 pfennigs to DM55.47 and HypoVereinsbank dropped DM6.80 to DM134.
Amsterdam, up more than 9 per cent in six straight sessions, slipped with the AEX index losing 14.34 at 1.116.51.
Electronic group Philips suffered profit-taking, falling 5.40 guilders at fl129.10 and Ahold, the retail leader lost ground, down fl2.40 at fl66.50.
Madrid edged higher as financial stocks continued to perform strongly. The Ibex-35 index of leading shares closed up 37.3 at 9,479.2.
Milan moved down after recent gains. The Mibtel index closed down 302 or 1.4 per cent at 21,850. The bourse had gained 6.6 per cent in the previous three days' trading.
