Frankfurt DAX: 4,889.65 (+50.05)

German shares lost ground in afternoon trading as the Dow slipped into negative territory and the dollar fell to almost DM1.81 amid talk about new developments in sex allegations against President Clinton.

The Xetra DAX, measuring all-day electronic trading, closed 0.69 per cent higher at 4,872.24.

Paris CAC-40: 3,540.23 (+13.66)

French shares set a fresh closing record yesterday, even though the market gave back most of its gains in late trading after fresh concerns about a US presidential sex scandal knocked the dollar.

Milan Mibtel: 21,778 (+367)

Italian shares held on to strong gains to end sharply higher, shrugging aside the bout of weakness on Wall Street.