LONDON - Britain's top shares ended flat yesterday as banks and miners paused for breath after recent gains, offsetting a rally in drugmakers and energy stocks.

The FTSE 100 finished almost unchanged at 5,642.62, having closed at a 21-month closing peak on Wednesday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares fell, led lower by the banking sector, with Greece's largest lender National Bank slipping after 2009 results came in below forecasts.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 0.11 percent at 1,069.69 points.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,012.31 points, down 11.97 or 0.2 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,938.18 points, down 19.71 or 0.5 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,897.74 points, up 5.73 or 0.08 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 23,246.51 points, down 114.92 or 0.49 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average fell one percent, off a two-month high hit the previous day, as property stocks like Mitsui Fudosan retreated on a brokerage downgrade and recent gainers like Canon lost ground.

The Nikkei lost 102.95 points to 10,744.03, falling from a two-month intraday high of 10,864.3 struck on Wednesday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares erased earlier gains to close lower, on renewed fears about credit tightening in China after regulators asked banks to control the pace of their lending.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.25 percent to 21,330.67, pulling back from an eight-week closing high on Wednesday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian stocks clung on to gains to finish 0.2 percent higher, led by top shopping mall landlord Westfield Group after a broker upgraded its rating to a buy.

The S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 9.9 points to end at 4,863.1, off a high of 4,874.4, for a third straight day of gains.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - Higher platinum and banking shares powered South African stocks to a near 19-month high on global economic optimism while the rand slipped against the dollar in line with the euro.

The All-share index closed at 28,806.14 points, up 275.2 or 0.96 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,243.73 points, up 13.32 or 0.6 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 23,104.29 points, up 387.87 or 1.71 percent.