Europe had a quiet day, with the Eurotop 300 index closing 5.27 or 0.4 per cent lower at 1,311.34. The Eurobloc 100 index of leading euro zone shares ended 1.31 or 0.1 per cent down at 1,067.03. The Eurotop 100 index dropped 9.87 or 0.3 per cent to 3,027.30.
Frankfurt reversed early gains to close with the Xetra Dax index down 15.93 at 5,196.93, off a peak of 5,240.90.
Deutsche Telekom, which is to have its index weighting significantly increased in nine days, stayed in demand amid persistent talk of imminent corporate activity. Dealers said the stock was also bolstered by the book-building phase of a big equity issue planned for this month. The shares ended €1.61 ahead at €41.63.
Karstadt, the retailer, added to recent gains, climbing €22.40 at €450.30 on an upbeat four-month trading statement for a two-day advance of 12.8 per cent. RWE bounced back after an upgrade at Bank Julius Baer which moved from "buy" to "strong buy". The shares improved 68 cents to €41.68.
Paris edged higher as media companies prospered on news of the acquisition of Pathe by Vivendi. Canal Plus, which is owned by Vivendi, rose €13.60 or 4.9 per cent to €293.70, adding to Monday's 6.9 per cent surge. The deal between Pathe and Vivendi has increased speculation Canal Plus will merge with British Sky Broadcasting. Vivendi climbed €3.80 or 5.2 per cent to €76.70, while Pathe powered €23.30 or 25.9 per cent ahead to €113.40.
The CAC-40 index rose 3.34 or 0.1 per cent to 4,407.58.
Amsterdam ended little changed, with another solid gain for Philips offset by weakness at market heavyweight Royal Dutch. The AEX index lost 1.78 to end at 566.70.
Philips remained in demand, adding €1.85 to reach €90.25 for a twoday gain of 5.7 per cent. Wolters Kluwer rose €1.65 to €42.50 amid talk of a possible take-over approach to publishing rival Elsevier, which on Monday put out a profits warning.
Volatile software group Baan fell back, reversing Monday's steep gains, driven by bid rumours, with a decline of 60 cents to €14.15. Retailer Ahold lost ground ahead of tomorrow's first-quarter results, dipping 30 cents to €35.20. Steel group Hoogovens, a strong market after the agreed bid from British Steel, ran into profit-taking, losing €2.15 or 4.7 per cent to close at €43.55.
Brussels held up better than many of its neighbours as new Bel-20 index weightings, which take effect after Friday's close, drove demand from tracker funds. The blue-chip index closed with a rise of 34.02 at 3,201.99.
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