Wall Street shocked the German share market and left it trapped in a narrow range throughout a markedly cautious floor session. The 30 share DAX index, catching up with a surge in late electronic dealing on Tuesday, ended 9.87 points higher. However, the IBIS DAX, which tracks post bourse dealings, fell 30 points from Tuesday's closing level. Chemical shares, which were overlooked in a recent switch to exporters, were the strongest blue chip sector.

Paris CAC-40: 2465.01 (-17.75)

French shares recovered some of their lost ground, too, overcoming jitters over Wall Street to close showing a fall of 17.75 points at 2,465.01. The Paris rally since the start of the year has taken the market to historic highs but risks running out of steam as profit taking kicks in, analysts said.

Milan MIBTEL: 12199 (-281)

Italian stocks ended at the day's lows, continuing a technical correction, with widespread selling seen in a market searching for direction. A good portion of the trade was in arbitrage between the cash and futures market.