In London, the FTSE 100 index closed down 5.2 points, or 0.08 per cent at 6,264.1, just up from an afternoon low of 6,210.8 and well off an early high of 6,290.6. In Frankfurt, the DAX was at 6,832.76 points, up 18.70 points or 0.27 per cent. The CAC-40 index in Paris finished 8.76 points or 0.14 per cent lower at 6,311.03 points drawn down by losses in the media and video games sectors.

In London, leading shares dipped marginally lower at close, having recovered from afternoon lows, as Wall Street recovered from an early slump prompted by technology earnings downgrades.

The broader indices remained in negative territory, with the techMARK bearing the brunt of the falls, shedding 34.20 points or 0.90 per cent at 3,715.24. Blue chips pushed higher in the morning, supported by an early rally in technology and media issues, rebounding from intense selling recently.

Selected technology stocks remained under pressure: Marconi lost 65 pence at 925, followed closely by CMG - 54 pence off at 1,295 - and Spirent, 19 pence down at 680. EMI shed 15 pence to 555, Pearson lost 51 pence at 1,879 and ARM Holdings were down 15 pence at 755.

Troubled retailer Marks and Spencer fell 18-1/2 pence to 208, while a Credit Lyonnais Laing profit downgrade on EMAP saw the shares lose 40 pence at 895.Financial issues continued to dominate the FTSE 100 leader board as Barclays was up 67 pence at 1,856, Alliance Leicester gained 18 pence to 558 and Lloyds TSB rose 19-1/2 pence at 633. Other "old economy" companies also enjoyed fresh support, with Anglo American rising 141 pence to 3,591, Railtrack up 20-1/2 to 1,080-1/2 and BAe Systems 13 higher at 364.

Granada Media also gained 17 pence to 455 following a sharp dive Wednesday following a drop in forecast advertising revenues.

In Frankfurt trading, technology stocks were mixed despite a positive start on the NASDAQ, in part because of caution over a Denmark referendum on whether to adopt the euro. Business software house SAP was a big gainer, closing up 4.16 euros at 282.70 euros on a technical recovery after earlier losses. Siemens and Infineon were among the biggest losers, slipping 3.0 euros to 151.45 euros, and 1.40 euros to 55.05 respectively.

Deutsche Telekom was in positive territory, again on a technical recovery from losses in the past week, adding 0.92 euros to 39.62 euros by the close.

Among automakers, DaimlerChrysler was the day's biggest loser, falling 2.80 euros to 50.01 euros.