Strong foreign investor interest drove German shares sharply higher as the DAX index hit a new record high, traders said. A main factor pushing the market higher was Morgan Stanley raising its recommendation on the German market to "overweight" from "underweight" while also reducing its weightings for British and Swiss share markets, traders said.

Paris CAC-40: 1916.29 (-0.27)

French shares closed marginally weaker, after dealers spent the day pushing the index up and down in the futures pit. In a market which lacked impetus, Rhone Poulenc featured heavily after it cut profit forecasts for 1995. Rhone Poulenc closed over 6 per cent lower while Lafarge was lower on bearish comments about the state of the European cement industry.

Milan MIBTEL: 9445 (+10)

Italian shares ended with only modest gains as nervousness set in ahead of a parliamentary debate on the future of Prime Minister Lamberto Dini's technocrat government.