European equity markets brushef off fears of an Asian sell-off, but only managed weak rises which left the DAX a fraction under the historic 5800 level. The Bundesbank left interest rates unchanged.

Frankfurt

German shares recovered after early declines, boosted by electronic trading in the last half-hour which reflected the positive testimony Wednesday in Washington by US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan..

The Xetra DAX index, reflecting all-day electronic trade rose 25.45 points, or 0.44% to 5,799.22.

But volume was low, as most traders stayed cautious ahead of the testmony.

Among the best performing shares was Volkswagen, up 7% after a broker upgrade. In contrast, BMW dropped more than 3% to 1,249 marks after the subscription period for its rights issue began yesterday.

Mannesmann pared some of the gains posted after its share split on Friday, falling 1.95 percent to 181.25 marks.

The stocks of the two Bavarian banks who plan to merge, Bayerische Vereinsbank and Bayerische Hypo, continued to outperform the market.

Paris

Share prices closed little changed in Paris in a lacklustre session ahead of the Greenspan testimony, after Tuesday's record close.with Asian sell-offs further weighing on stocks.

The CAC-40 Index ended 9.68 points higher at 4,211.54

The firmer dollar and Air France's announcement that a deal has been reached with the SNPL pilots' union helped sentiment, analysts said.

Revised figures about employment growth also helped steady the market.

Automaker Peugeot rose after the company said it planned to increase sales by 30% over the next five years, helping other auto stocks.

Bank stocks were also higher on takeover hopes, with both Paribas and CCF up on the session.