Frankfurt Dax 2284.86 (+30.98)

German shares notched up gains of over 2 per cent in yesterday's trading, taking the post bourse DAX index to within 13 points of its all time high. Traders' were caught off balance by the sham gains and many believed" prices could fall on profit taking before rising again.

Paris CAC 40 1908.38 (+36.41)

French share prices surged by 1.95 per cent during yesterday's trading session as the CAC 40 index got back above the 1,900 point level. The Bank of France carried out a tender arrangement at an unchanged rate of 4.45 per cent and today the Bundesbank will provide funds under a regular repurchase arrangement at a fixed rate of 3.75 per cent.

Milan MIBTEL 9530 (+77)

Italian shares closed higher, lifted by the strong performance of bond futures on the first trading day of the new year. Interest rate sensitive stocks such as banks, insurance companies and telecoms posted the strongest gains in generally low volume trading.