The Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges surged on Friday, hitting levels that have not been seen for four to five years, while share prices fell slightly in London.
The London FTSE 100 index shed 0.03 percent to finish at 5,595.4, while in Paris the CAC 40 gained 0.12 percent to 4,757.74.
In Frankfurt the DAX edged up 0.38 percent to 5,419.05.
The Paris finish was its strongest since the summer of 2001. The DAX score was its best showing since early 2002.
The Euro STOXX 50 index of leading eurozone shares rose by 0.24 percent to end the week at 3,599.47.
On the currency market the US dollar moved slightly higher against the euro, with the single European currency trading at US$1.1853 after US$1.1870 late Thursday.
US stocks turned mixed in light pre-Christmas trade but festive merger news in steel and clothing kept investor interest alive.
The takeover news included a raised US$4.2 billion bid from European steelmaker Arcelor for Canada's Dofasco, as well as a US$1.6 billion agreement by Apax Partners to buy the US clothing line Tommy Hilfiger.
In morning trades, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.16 percent at 10,872.31, but the technology-laden NASDAQ was up a marginal 0.01 percent at 2,246.73.
In London, retailers were well-supported. Marks and Spencer gained 1.05 percent to ?4.9850, Next added 0.65 percent to reach ?15.44 and Kingfisher rose 0.32 percent to ?2.3750.
Oil firms were hurt by a drop in crude prices as temperatures warmed in the US.
BP fell 0.16 percent to ?6.2150 while Royal Dutch Shell shed 0.69 percent to close at ?18.58.
In Paris steel maker Arcelor added 0.24 percent to reach 21.02 euros after sweetening its offer for Dofasco of Canada.
Pernod Ricard climbed 1.04 percent to 146.20 euros following the sale of three of its whisky brands to Italy's Campari for 130 million euros (US$154.3 million).
On the Frankfurt exchange Siemens added 1.12 percent to 72.04 euros while Bayer rose 0.79 percent to 35.68 euros.
Steel group ThyssenKrupp, which is competing with Arcelor for Dofasco, gave up 0.52 percent to close at 17.36 euros.
Elsewhere there were gains of 0.21 percent to 10,723.9 on the IBEX-35 in Madrid and 0.16 percent to 439.16 on the AEX in Amsterdam.
There were declines of 0.06 percent to 3,542.36 on the BEL 20 in Brussels, 0.23 percent to 7,497.83 on the Swiss Market Index and 0.27 percent to 35,740 on the SP/MIB in Milan.
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