With the US on holiday for Labor Day, investors today focused on merger and acquisition news in Europe.
European stocks edged higher today as comments from executives at Barclays and Deutsche Bank reassured investors on the banks' exposure to the troubled U.S. subprime mortgage market.
But the gains were limited as shares in Gaz de France and Suez retreated after the two companies' boards approved the revised terms of a merger, ending speculation about what would happen if the deal fell through.
The DAX index ended at 7,648 points, up 10.41 or 0.14% and in Paris the CAC40 closed at 5,651 points, down 11.43 or 0.20%.
The FTSE 100 index closed 0.19%, or 11 points, higher at 6,315 with banks the best performing sector.
In Dublin the ISEQ closed up 38 points at 8439 with Readymix up seven at €1.97 after it said it has sold parts of its business for €49 million euro.
Fruit group Fyffes was unchanged at 82 cent after it reported pre-tax profits of €15.7m for the first half of this year - slightly lower than last year.
And building materials group Kingspan was down 13 at €18.87 - despite half year pre-tax profits up almost 30% on last year.
Earlier in Tokyo stocks as an unexpected drop in capital spending data put a lid on the overall market. The Nikkei shed 0.27%, or 44 points, to 16,524.
