Frankfurt DAX: 2572.25 (+8.25)
In after-hours trade, shares were dragged down by a lower opening on Wall Street and a general lack of direction in the market ahead of Thursday's Independence Day holiday in the US. The IBIS DAX index, which gauges electronic trade in the 30 most important companies, ended the day at 2565.32 points, down 8.12 or 0.32 per cent, despite having hit record highs in early electronic trade.
Paris CAC-40: 2111.80 (-6.95)
The market closed lower, after having enjoyed small gains earlier in the day, hit by the fall-out from a strong rise in US new homes sales. The surprise 7.5 per cent in the homes sales might yet prompt the Fed's open markets committee to raise rates, although the general view is that it might hold off.
Milan Mibtel: 10455 (-1)
Italian shares ended mixed after a late start because of a technical fault. Early gains slipped away as domestic bonds eased from their earlier highs and Wall Street lost steam.
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