The European Central Bank's deliberations on interest rates kept shares in Frankfurt on hold yesterday. After a session of fairly narrow trading the Xetra Dax ended 40.51 better at 5,067.76. Motors were active, with DaimlerChrysler adding #1.54 at #84.99 and BMW, partly making up for recent underperformance, jumping #14.20 to #625.75. Volkswagen gained 29 cents to #61.54 on news of plans for a share buyback.

Preussag added #27.90 to #527.90. Viag shed #5.20 at #486.50. Banks were mixed, with Deutsche Bank adding 55 cents at #48.30.

Zurich stayed positive, adding 116.1, or 1.6 per cent, to 7,332.9 on the SMI Index, helped by firm bonds, a 3 per cent bounce for drugs leader Novartis and another active session for banks. Novartis advanced SFr83 to SFr2,490 (#1,561). UBS gained a further SFr5.50 at SFr488.50 (#306) and CS Group added SFr7.50 at SFr286 (#179).

Paris remained confined to a narrow range as investors paused ahead of the meeting of the ECB board. The blue-chip CAC-40 index settled 12.66 or 0.3 per cent higher to 4,330.70 after a spell in negative territory when Wall Street opened flat. L'Oreal posted solid gains, boosted by higher-than-expected sales figures for the first quarter of the year. Shares in the company rose #38.50, or 6.3 per cent, to #651, the steepest advance in the CAC-40. LVMH closed #4.40 higher to #232 despite news that its $85 (#78.4) per share offer for Gucci had been rejected.

Bank shares tumbled after Warburg cut its rating on Societe Generale, Paribas and BNP, saying the outcome of BNP's bid for its two rivals would not be known until June. BNP lost #3.90 to #72.60, while SocGen shed #4.90 to #102 and Paribas fell #2.95 to #99.55.

Amsterdam ended lower after a session that focused mostly on special situations. The AEX index lost 4.88 at 537.67. Royal Dutch was a weak market, falling #1.25 to #47.90 in 9.5 million shares traded, on worries about disruption to operations in Nigeria. Elsewhere, Unilever eased 65 cents to #62.15.