As bourses awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's two-day deliberations on interest rates, trading volumes were again subdued and markets were little changed.
The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index edged up 0.1 per cent at 1,091.52, the FTSE Eurotop 100 index improved 0.4 per cent at 3,013.57 and the broader FTSE Eurotop 300 added 0.2 per cent at 1,309.31.
Frankfurt moved ahead for the third day running, adding 18.99 at 5,378.52 on the Xetra DAX index in spite of a renewed wobble on Wall Street in early trading.
Banks were active following earnings upgrades for the sector at Goldman Sachs. Deutsche Bank rose 55 cents at €59.02, Dresdner added 1.45 at €37.95 and Commerzbank was up 24 cents at €29.49.
Hypovereinsbank also pushed higher, advancing €2.63 to €62.98 on talk that the shares had been short-listed for inclusion in the Euro Stoxx 50 index.
Paris continued to power forward, lifted by good corporate news and buying of the three big banks involved in a complex take-over battle.
The CAC-40 index climbed 32.78, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,536.61. The CAC has now risen 15.1 per cent this year, compared with a 10.7 per cent increase in the Eurotop 300 index.
Alcatel, the engineering and construction company, jumped €5.50, or 4.2 per cent, to €136.50 on news that it had won a contract to build Europe's biggest fibre-optic network.
Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, the utilities group, continued to prosper on Monday's news of its acquisition of Nalco Chemical, the world's largest water treatment company. The shares added €4.20, or 2.5 per cent, to reach €174.90 after Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency, said the outlook for the group was stable. The shares have climbed 7.8 per cent in the last three sessions.
Banque Nationale de Paris, Societe Generale and Paribas all profited from news of the failure of talks aimed at finding a compromise in their take-over dispute. BNP has made hostile bids for each of the other two banks in an attempt to stop them merging. BNP rose €2.30, or 2.9 per cent, to €80.80, SocGen €5.10, or 3.1 per cent, to €170.90 and Paribas €1.50, or 1.4 per cent, to €108.70.
