Frankfurt Dax: 2473.35 (+15.87)

German shares ended trade on Wednesday higher, just off daily highs, boosted by a positive opening on Wall Street and strong gains in DAX index heavyweight Allianz. The IBIS DAX index, which measures trade in 30 bluechip German stocks, ended the day up 15.87 points, or 0.65 percent, at 2,473.35 points. The Chicago purchasing managers report had little impact on trade and dealers looked ahead to the release "today of the national purchasing managers' report and US payrolls data for July on Friday.

Paris CAC-40: 1995.89 (+27.40)

French blue chip shares closed sharply higher but below the 2000 resistance level which the CAC had broken through in earlier trading. The market was supported by the firm opening on Wall Street, stronger bond prices' and the expiry of July futures contracts and options.

Milan MIBTEL: 9649 (+158)

A technical rebound, boosted by a good performance on Wall Street and the bond markets, resulted in a rise of almost 1.5 per cent on the Milan market.