European markets ended little changed after a day that saw the core bourses in Paris and Frankfurt reverse initial losses. The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index finished off 0.2 per cent at 1,063.12. The FTSE Eurotop 100 index was all square at 2,917.84 and the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index eased 0.1 per cent at 1,280.39.

Paris pressed forward despite a tumble by Cap Gemini, the software company. The CAC-40 index ended 56.34 or 1.2 per cent higher at 4,591.42.

Cap Gemini closed €24 or 14 per cent lower at €148 on talk that it had issued a profits warning. Trading in the stock was halted temporarily in the morning after it fell the maximum 10 per cent allowed.

There was better news for investors elsewhere on the CAC. Rhone- Poulenc, the drugs group, climbed €2.75 or 6 per cent to €48.50, ending a poor run that saw it fall 7.9 per cent in the previous 11 sessions. Euro Disney, the theme park operator, jumped 11 cents or 8.7 per cent to €1.37 on news that it was building a new facility next to existing Disneyland Paris site.

Frankfurt reversed initial losses to close with the Xetra DAX index at its best level of the session. Retailers were mixed. Karstadt added €6 at €420 after resolving legal challenges to its planned merger with the Quelle mail order group. Metro, meanwhile, came off 63 cents at €49. Deutsche Telekom rose 86 cents to €39.16 and engineering group Linde was also a prime riser, adding €2.217 or 4.2 per cent at €53.50.

Amsterdam was pushed lower by steep falls at market heavyweights Unilever and Royal Dutch. Zurich ended little changed after a session mostly spent in negative territory. The SMI index finished up 14.6 at 6,907.4.

Madrid pulled back as Repsol, the oil group, dipped on profit-taking. The general index finished 1.60 or 0.2 per cent lower at 857.34. Milan was again dragged lower by the telecoms sector as investors continued to spurn Telecom Italia's restructuring plan. The Mibtel index ended 18 or 0.1 per cent down at 23,818.