OREANDA-NEWS. London stocks pulled back Wednesday from to a record high the previous day on profit-taking, while the main European markets ended flat.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.21 percent from Tuesday's close to end the day at 6,935.38 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 index edged up 0.04 percent to 11,210.27 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 was down 0.09 percent to 4,882.22 points.

Madrid gave up 0.14 percent and Milan shed 0.96 percent.

The euro rose to \\$1.1362 from \\$1.1342 late in New York on Tuesday.

"The FTSE 100 failed to build on the record-breaking gains from the previous session," said analyst Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets.

"The benchmark UK index was dragged down when the Irish government failed to give the go-ahead on the IAG takeover of Aer Lingus, while Weir Group was pummelled after giving a profit warning."

The Irish government demanded more guarantees on jobs and routes before agreeing to the deal, while shares in engineering firm Weir Group collapsed almost 9 percent after it signalled lower margins and revenue.

The FTSE index had been rising steadily for months, helped by central bank stimulus and improvements to the British and US economies that have offset weakness in China and strains in the eurozone.

It benefitted Tuesday from eurozone finance ministers backing an extension of Greece's bailout, which lowers the immediate risk the country will crash out of the euro.

European markets were also supported by a pledge Tuesday by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to take a cautious approach to raising US interest rates, which had sent the Dow and S&P 500 indices on Wall Street to record highs.

"Janet Yellen's testimony to Congress yesterday, while on the face it a repeat of her dovish stance, does move the Fed closer to raising interest rates," said Neil MacKinnon, economist at financial group VTB Capital.

Traders were also eyeing a second day of congressional testimony by Yellen.

On the corporate front, shares in French insurance group AXA, number two in Europe after German giant Allianz, jumped 2.6 percent after posting a 12 percent surge in net profits to 5.02 billion euros last year.

Telefonica won 1.7 percent despite the Spanish telecoms group reporting a plunge in annual net profits to 3.0 billion euros, citing Venezuela's economic crisis and other exceptional costs.

Asian stocks ended mixed despite another record close on Wall Street after Yellen dampened speculation of a rate rise before summer.

Shanghai closed down 0.56 percent despite a survey showing Chinese factory activity expanded in February, snapping two consecutive months of contraction.

Hong Kong, meanwhile, added 0.11 percent.

Sydney rose 0.30 percent, and Seoul added 0.73 percent.

But Tokyo closed 0.10 percent lower as investors took profits after a five-day winning streak.

Wall Street stocks hung around record highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.09 percent to 18,225.21 points in midday trade.

The broad-based S&P 500 was up fractionally at 2,115.57, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.10 percent to 4,973.00.

"Indices on Wall Street have been content to hold steady around their new highs, especially since the Fed seems in no hurry to raise rates," said analyst Chris Beauchamp at trading company IG.