Frankfurt rose 14.26 to an all-time close of 7,960.03 on the Xetra DAX index but this left the benchmark short of the 8,022.48 reached earlier in the session.
In spite of benign US inflation data, which lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average by more than 200 points during the European day, momentum in Germany was weak. Fallers outpaced gainers by around two to one.
Techs managed to stay positive, with Deutsche Telekom adding #3.52 at #102.90 amid continued speculation the group was poised to announce a merger with Qwest International of the US. Epcos rose #8.32 to #157.60.
Cyclicals had a bad day. Chemicals leaders Bayer and BASF came off 95 cents at #41.90 and #1.49 at #45.41 respectively. Top utility RWE had another dull day, sliding 75 cents to #34.25. In motors, BMW fell 90 cents to #26. Paris posted another good performance as investors focused on companies with an internet stake. The CAC 40 index added 36.56 to a record close of 6,514.11.
Wall Street's rally on the back of reduced interest rate fears helped French stocks, although late profit-taking dampened momentum.
Vivendi, the CAC's third biggest component, gained more than 7 per cent or #8.90 to #133.9, Lagardere was up #6.10 to #104.1 and Alstom a mighty 14.5 per cent or #3.20 to #25.25.
Amsterdam rose 7.92 to a record 680.51 on the AEX index with a powerful run for KPN countering weak financials.
KPN jumped #13.90 to #145.90 for a two-day gain of almost 15 per cent as the takeover talk surrounding Qwest International of the US sparked speculation about the two group's KPN Qwest joint venture.
Philips also improved, adding #4.80 to #210.75. In contrast, financials were visibly weak. Aegon fell #1.75 to #69.90 and ING #1.24 to #50.75.
Helsinki rose by more than 5 per cent, the biggest one-day rise since early January. The Hex general index hit yet another record close of 17,636, a gain of 861.60.
