Frankfurt Dax: 2866.07 (-20.91)

Frankfurt shares closed down 0.7 per cent, sapped by Wall Street's fall and the weaker dollar, after a day of quiet trading. "It's consolidation today," said one trader in Frankfurt. The dollar's slide hit exporting chemical and auto stocks. BMW Hoechst and BASF were all lower after surging on Tuesday.

Paris CAC-40: 23b8.65 (-40.46)

French stocks took the biggest knock from Wall Street, sliding 1.7 per cent after a strong performance this week. The blue chip CAC-40 index was down to 2306.79 points at one stage.

Alcatel Alsthom fell 3.2 per cent to 459.8 francs following news that the government has suspended the Thomson SA privatisation.

Milan MIBTEL: 10478 (-67)

Italian shares closed easier but off the day's lows in a market depressed by the profit taking on Wall Street. However, dealers said that the underlying sentiment remained positive but that the market lacked the impetus to push ahead. Trading was moderate in a market where domestic investors were the main sellers.