European shares ended yesterday at their lowest level in two weeks, weighed by record oil prices and disappointing earnings from Swiss drugmaker Roche and US car titan General Motors.

Nokia and Danone were bright spots as the Finnish telecoms equipment giant made upbeat comments on sales and the French food group posted more robust underlying third-quarter sales growth than expected.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index shed 0.6 per cent to close unofficially at 997.8 points, its weakest level since October 1, while the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.6 per cent to 2,776 points.

Heavily-weighted oil stocks like BP also helped limit market losses, underpinned by a return of crude oil prices above $54 a barrel after the US government reported another fall in heating-fuel stocks ahead of winter.

The Eurofirst 300 climbed to a five-month high last week but has since struggled to hold the advance as sky-high oil prices, and mixed economic data and earnings outlooks make it difficult for investors to decide on their next move.

"Major financial markets seem to be a hostage to the oil market right now and it is hard to say when it will stop," said economist David Brown at Bear Stearns. "It has left bonds, stocks and currencies in pretty well worn ranges, although we think that the bias is likely to be towards higher bonds, lower stocks and, in time, a weaker dollar."