European shares ended little changed yesterday amid mixed reactions to comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on the US economy, but hotelier Accor dipped after a disappointing update.

Vinci rose, however, after it delivered a 29 per cent rise in six-month net earnings and gave bullish forecasts. Shares in the world's largest construction firm gained 4.6 per cent to €92.75, after hitting an all-time peak of €93.50 earlier in the session.

The FTSE Eurotop 300 index of pan-European blue chips ended 0.01 per cent higher at 991.4 points, while the narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index shed 0.18 per cent to 2,746.96 points.

But investors took some comfort from Mr Greenspan saying that the world's largest economy had climbed out of its recent soft patch and was picking up steam.

"Markets were expecting an upbeat assessment, which is what they got," said James Knightley, a global economist at ING Financial Markets. "(Mr Greenspan) sounded, if anything, a little bit dismissive of some of the softness we've seen."

But such comments added to expectations for a quarter-point US interest rate rise later this month. Higher rates generally drag down stocks, reflecting the impact of increased borrowing costs on corporate profit margins.

Market watchers also lamented that the central banker had offered few clues in terms of a longer-term outlook.

"(Mr) Greenspan is far from dramatising but not ravingly optimistic about the economy," said Valerie Plagnol, chief strategist at French broker CIC Securities. "He seems very moderate in his comments. There's still an enormous lack of visibility due to the uncertain variable of oil prices."

Mostly solid second-quarter earnings reports and a 10-per cent dip in sky-high oil prices have helped the benchmark Eurotop 300 rebound six per cent from a 2004 low in mid-August.

But low trading volumes - which amounted to €2.3 billion yesterday - reflected investors' nervousness at how fast markets have recovered from their lows, strategists said.

Markets did not rule out a new surge in crude oil prices, which crimp households' spending and hurt companies' margins.

Back on the corporate news front, Accor shares slipped 6.4 per cent as the French hotelier issued a disappointing full-year earnings target after a weaker-than-expected rise in first-half core earnings. Broker CA Cheuvreux cut its rating on the stock to "underperform" from "recommended stock".

British Airways was another soft spot, nosing 3.1 per cent lower on worries it may use funds from the £425-million sale of its stake in Australia's Qantas Airways to take advantage of any consolidation in Europe.

BA told shareholders in July last year its close ties with Spanish airline Iberia would be at the heart of this consolidation. Iberia shares rose 0.9 per cent to €2.32.

Elsewhere, Havas shed one per cent as a meeting of the board of directors of the French advertising major got underway to discuss a possible bid for US rival Grey Global, according to a source close to the matter.

But telecoms equipment maker Alcatel rose 2.5 per cent after the French group said cost cuts this year would be at the top end of its targeted range. JP Morgan lifted Alcatel's rating to "neutral" from "underweight," saying the stock's valuation had fallen too far below its €11 price target.

In New York the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was 0.3 per cent lower at 10,314 points by 1530 GMT, weighed as drinks titan Coca-Cola lowered its earnings forecast for the year. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.3 per cent to 1,853.1 points.