DAX: 2,567.43 (+5.25)

Bank and telecommunications stocks were the main movers yesterday after Deutsche Bank AG took a 5.2 per cent stake in Bayerische Vereinsbank AG. The other big news was that the German railway said it was selling 49.8 per cent of its telecommunications unit DBKom to the industrial group Mannesmann AG.

CAC-40: 2,085.88 (+9.31)

Paris joined London and Frankfurt in pushing higher, although there, too, gains were pared back. Interest focused on takeover stocks. Holding company Cerus and car parts supplier Valeo, in which it holds a 28 per cent stake, felt after Cerus announced a FFr198 million (£24 million) convertible bond issue, seen as reducing the pressure on the group to sell its Valeo stake.

Mibtel: 10,437 (+10)

Italian shares closed slightly firmer in a very thin market. The market is now awaiting the crucial parliamentary vote on government budgetary measures, dealers said.