European shares eased on Wednesday, with miners like Anglo American hit most as the price of gold and copper slumped, but car makers lent support, helped by a rebound of the dollar and pleasing sales numbers in Germany. Telecom Italia and TIM also bucked the weaker market trend, both stocks reaching their best levels in nearly three years a day after the telecoms group announced a 21 billion euro ($27.9 billion) buyout of TIM, its mobile unit. Gains on Wall Street also helped the FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of pan-European blue chips close only 0.2 percent lower at 1,033.4 points, near a session high. The narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.2 percent to 2,912.4 points. European investors sighed with relief as the euro retreated from Tuesday's record high of $1.3470, easing worries that a strong single currency could make European companies less competitive and eat into their dollar-denominated earnings. "The dollar is making a bid to recover and this could continue for a while yet as the market focuses on the prospects of a Fed hike next week," said Steve Barrow, currency strategist at Bear Stearns. "A slip to the $1.30 region for the euro is certainly possible." --More 2327 Local Time 2027 GMT
