Markets mostly ended higher but off early peaks as they fell in late trading in line with Wall Street.
The Eurobloc 100 index of euro-zone shares rose 1.86 or 0.2 per cent to 1,137.42, the Eurotop 100 index gained 5.62 or 0.2 per cent to reach 3,127.67 and the Eurotop 300 index closed 3.89 or 0.3 per cent up at 1,361.02.
Frankfurt edged deeper into record territory, adding 13.07 at 5,652.02 on the Xetra Dax index.
Mannesmann rose on a weekend press story that UK mobile phones giant Vodafone Airtouch was set to forge links. The shares ended €1.90 higher at €148.50 after a high of €150.30.
Banks, a strong market lately following a round of broker upgrades for the sector, ran into profit-taking. Dresdner, up 7 per cent on Friday, slipped €1.31 to €44.69. Commerzbank came off 62 cents at €33.8 0.
Chemicals group Henkel was a top performer, advancing €2.95 to €72.95.
Paris finished ahead but off the day's high as it retreated in late trading in line with Wall Street. The CAC-40 index rose 14.45 or 0.3 per cent to 4,662.28, off its peak of 4,691.49.
Valeo, the car parts maker, was one of the top gainers, ending €2.75 or 3.6 per cent higher at €79.25 on the back of strong first-half sales and recent underperformance. The shares declined 11.7 per cent between April 21st and July 9th.
Schneider and Legrand, the electrical equipment makers, both prospered after upgrades from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Schneider climbed €1.90 or 3.3 per cent to €59.90, while Legrand finished €2.80 or 1.4 per cent up at €209.40.
STMicroelectronics, the semiconductor manufacturer, continued to power ahead on optimism about the microchip market. The stock ended €3 or 4.2 per cent higher at €74, making a gain of 378 per cent since October 9th.
Societe Generale climbed €2.70 or 1.6 per cent to €169.20 after its board rejected the sweetened takeover offer from Banque Nationale de Paris and said first-half profits would double this year.
Amsterdam rose to a high for the year, adding 1.46 to 588.35 on the AEX index as heavyweight Royal Dutch surged 2.2 per cent.
The oil giant added €1.35 to €63.40 after Merrill Lynch raised its target price for Shell, its UK arm. Philips came off €2.65 at €96.50.
