LONDON - Britain's top share index rose for the seventh straight day, led by BP after its compensation deal with the White House, but gains were held in check by weak US jobs data hitting commodity-linked stocks. The FTSE 100 was up 15.97 points, or 0.3 percent, at 5,253.89, to close at its highest since May 18 but off the session high of 5,293.76.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares extended a rally to a seventh day, as robust demand in a Spanish bond auction boosted investor confidence in the euro zone economic outlook, and BP Rose sharply. The market's gains were capped, however, by US data that cast doubt on the strength of the economic recovery. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 0.3 percent to 1,041.84 points, the highest close since May 13. The index has gained 6.3 percent in a seven-day rally, the longest winning streak in 11 months, but it is still down 0.4 percent in 2010.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,223.54 points, up 32.63 or 0.53 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,683.08 points, up 7.15 or 0.19 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,475.25 points, down 14.82 or 0.23 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed 21,122.16 points, up 7.22 or 0.03 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - The Nikkei average fell 0.67 percent after five days of gains, coming off one-month highs, though support was expected to hold at the level of the benchmark's 25-day moving average. Coming off a one-month high hit the previous day, the index shed 67.75 points to 9,999.4 after spending most of the day above 10,000, a key level that has been both support and resistance at different times over the past year.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Stocks edged higher, hitting a one-month high during the day, with energy shares leading gains as markets reopened after a public holiday on Wednesday. The Hang Seng Index ended 0.38 percent or 76.25 points higher at 20,138.4 the eighth successive gaining session for the index, on the way to a 6.5 percent rise from the May low.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Stocks fell 0.69 percent, dragged down by the top banks and miners as investors turned to defensive stocks.