LONDON - Renewed worries about the global economy dragged Britain's top share index to its lowest close in nearly three months, with commodity stocks falling sharply and drugmaker AstraZeneca dipping on weak results. The FTSE 100 ended down 1.4 percent, or 71.73 points, at 5,145.74, its lowest close since November 6, after the index finished down 1.1 percent on Wednesday in a volatile session.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares fell, hitting their lowest closing in seven weeks, led lower by banks and drugmakers, while concerns over Greece fiscal health also weighed. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 1.2 percent at 1,001.73 points after earlier being up as much as 1,027.63.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,540.33 points, down 102.87 or 1.82 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,688.79 points, down 71.01 or 1.89 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed closed at 6,442.41 points, down 30.62 or 0.47 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 22,156.88 points, down 359.85 or 1.6 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.58 percent to snap a four-day losing streak, with upbeat reports on profits at Honda Motor and Sony Corp. adding to momentum from strong earnings at other big name stocks such as Canon. The benchmark Nikkei rose 162.21 points to 10,414.29 after earlier rising more than two percent to 10,462.7.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Shares ended up 1.61 percent, snapping a six-day losing streak and staging the biggest single-day gain in percentage terms in more than three weeks, as investors picked up Chinese banks after their recent sell-off. The Hang Seng Index rebounded to a session high of 20,437.56 before trimming gains to end at 20,356.37, up 323.3 points.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Shares rose 0.62 percent, helped by firms such as Westfield Group, as investors encouraged by a revival in global markets cherry picked stocks that were battered by four consecutive days of fall. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 28.67 points to 4,673.3 points.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - Stocks dipped slightly as losses in blue-chip mining heavyweights outstripped gains in banking and retail shares, buoyed by hopes of an interest rate cut that also lifted bonds. The All-share index closed at 26,795.3 points, down 6.83 or 0.03 percent.