Frankfurt DAX: 6165.52 (-5.91)

German shares surrendered their hold on 6,200 and fell into negative territory, knocked lower by the testimony of Mr Alan Greenspan to the US Congress. The news knocked the DAX down about 50 points. Above all, Mr Greenspan's comments hit Germany's export-driven stocks, with BMW giving up 15 deutschmarks within minutes of the start of the US Federal Reserve chief's Humphrey-Hawkins testimony.

Paris CAC-40: 4322.08 (-46.83)

French stocks closed down but above session lows, knocked back by Mr Greenspan's comments, which were seen as bearish. Mr Greenspan's warning that current US stock prices may be hard to contain could signal a spell of "sideways drifting" for the Paris bourse, one broker said.

Milan Mibtel: 25746 (-200)

Italian shares also ended lower but Telecom Italia was supported by the announcement that BT Alex Brown had upgraded its rating to a "strong buy".