Frankfurt Dax: 2718.98 (-10.15) German shares closed bourse trade lower, weighed down by the dollar and losses on Wall Street and in Tokyo. The DAX index of 30 leading shares ended floor trade down 10.05 points at 2718.98. In computerised trade the IBIS DAX index closed on 2721.74. Dealers said they expected the index to consolidate for the rest of the week, although it was well-supported above 2,700.

Paris CAC-40: 2175.61 (-4.61) French stocks ended a little weaker on limited consolidation that saw the shares of magazines-to-missiles group Lagardere swing wildly after the euphoric reaction to its planned takeover of Thomson SA. More than 3.5 million shares in Lagardere changed hands during the day, but a surge of 5.3 per cent soon petered out. The stock slid into the red in the afternoon on profit-taking.

Milan MIBTEL: 10016 (+34) Italian shares edged higher after initial inflation figures and closed with slight gains ahead of more inflation figures due for publication after the market close.