Spiritless trading in Frankfurt

DAX: 2772.34 (-2.16)

In Frankfurt, floor transactions ended in the minus column after listless trading which dealers said lacked direction.

Computerised dealing on the IBIS DAX index was down further in late trade at 2763.10.

Deutsche Telekom was unchanged and dealers said that the profit-taking by overseas institutions seemed to have come to an end.

CAC-40: 2233.57 (+0.18)

French shares clawed back losses to squeeze into positive territory at the close after a bout of profit-taking ahead of today's monthly settlement. Wall Street's sell-off also hit sentiment. Volume was a heavy 6.1 billion francs.

Mibtel: 10445 (+12)

Italian shares closed a touch firmer with investors having one eye on the preliminary November inflation figures due just after the market closed.

Stocks showed no real direction and the market spent most of the day watching the fluctuations on the bond market.