Shares in Frankfurt fell back in spite of another hyperactive session for financials. The Xetra DAX, at a record high on Tuesday, ended 77.97 lower at 7,987.00.
The FTSE Eurobloc 100 index shed 0.7 per cent to 1,488.54 and the FTSE Eurotop 100 index 0.7 per cent to 3,805.68. The FTSE Eurotop 300 index came off 0.9 per cent to close at 1,621.89.
Deutsche Bank fell back, losing #2.15 to #92.75 as investors grappled with the implications of the group racing up the European league via a merger with Dresdner Bank. Dresdner, up 20 per cent on Tuesday, came off #1.04 at #55.96.
Commerzbank gained #1.51 to #42.00 and HypoVereinsbank #3.82 to #64.79 amid persistent speculation that any alliance between Deutsche Bank and Dresdner would force the pace of consolidation elsewhere in the German banking sector.
Paris slipped for the second consecutive day, with the CAC-40 index losing 96.88 to 6,344.97, as the US Federal Reserve chairman's latest comments hit sentiment.
Media companies took a hit, with Canal Plus losing #13.50 to #301.50 and radio group TF1 losing #65 to #865. Canal Plus' results for 1999 showed a widening loss of #336 million compared with #28 million for 1998.
Amsterdam moved lower with good gains by Royal Dutch and Philips countered by weak financials. The AEX index ended off 2.46 at 674.75. Sector switching into German counterparts left ABN-Amro down 69 cents at #21.23 in 7.2 million shares traded. ING fell 92 cents at #51.60.
Sweeping changes have been made to the FTSE Eurotop 300 index, with 15 companies entering the index. The new entrants are: Terra Networks, United Pan European Communications, Tecnost, Seat- Pagine Gialle, Bipop-Carire, Mediolanum, Credit Lyonnais, Elan, Sagem, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Soc Euro Satellites, HPI, Telecel Com, Pessoai, CGIP and Havas Advertising.
