European shares edged lower yesterday as investors digested a host of corporate earnings data but a bold takeover move by Germany's Adidas sent its shares soaring as its shares gained 6.6 per cent to €157.26 after the company announced plans to buy US rival Reebok. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.3 per cent to 1,186.31 by midday, London's FTSE 100 shed 0.2 per cent to 5,318.9, Germany's Xetra Dax lost 0.2 per cent to 4,921.47 and France's CAC-40 slipped 0.3 per cent to 4,489.25.

On Wall Street, shares rallied with strong US consumer spending figures for June helping to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.6 per cent higher to 10,683.74. Meanwhile the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index hit a fresh four-year high, rising one per cent to 2,218.15, boosted by a favourable industry outlook from chipmaker Maxim Integrated Products.

The Nikkei 225 index of Japanese stocks climbed to its highest close in 15, pushed up by a further batch of strong quarterly earnings results. The stock average closed up 0.35 per cent at 11,981.80, after briefly climbing above 12,000 for the first time since April 2004. The broader Topix closed 0.2 per cent higher at 1,212.02.

Oracle is to invest nearly $1bn to gain control of I-Flex Solutions, the Bombay-based manufacturer of the world's best-selling software for banks, in the largest cross-border takeover of an Indian technology company. Oracle will acquire Citigroup's 41 per cent stake in I-Flex for $593m and invest a further $316m.