Frankfurt Dax: 4,087.28 (-149.66)

German shares finished with heavy losses but well off the day's lows as the market was carried higher by a better-than-expected performance on Wall Street.

Spooked by news of declines of as much as 12 per cent on Singapore stocks and a heavy sell-off in Hong Kong, shares went into freefall from the start of trade. By early afternoon shares had managed to nose up off their day's lows and the Xetra Dax, which records all-day computer trading, finished 102.02 points or 2.41 per cent lower at 4,135.73 points.

Paris CAC: 2,862.54 (-67.27)

More worries from Asia sent French shares sharply lower but the market scraped back some ground as Wall Street clawed back from an early sharp fall.

Six of the 39 issues currently in the CAC-40 made gains against 32 fallers, and with one unchanged.

Milan Mibtel: 17,633 (-47) Italian shares pared losses after

US stocks regained ground shortly after the starting bell on Wall Street, stemming fears of panic selling after Asian shares again fell overnight.