Frankfurt DAX: 3340.05 (-11.44)

German car manufacturers were the stars in lacklustre bourse trade yesterday, keeping up a trend set on Thursday, with Volkswagen AG leading the posse after a warmly received analysts meeting. Volkswagen shares surged nearly 10 per cent in early electronic trade, but fell back slightly.

Paris CAC-40: 2574.56 (-33.41)

The Paris Bourse, strong at the start of the day, was hit by a case of nerves later particularly after the release of US data.

Milan Mibtel: 12079 (+77)

Italian shares ended yesterday in positive territory, but earlier gains were reduced in line with falls on Wall Street and other European bourses after stronger than expected US producer price and retail sales data.