LONDON - Britain's leading share index extended early gains to close strongly, after US market bulls helped London to its highest close since late April. The FTSE 100 closed at 5,602.54 points, up 94.09 or 1.71 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - Optimism that the economy will not slip back into recession lifted European shares with oil heavyweights gaining following a jump in crude prices.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 1.4 percent to close at 1,087.38 points. The index has gained nearly six percent in September but is 2.5 percent below a peak hit in April.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,294.58 points, up 84.82 or 1.37 percent

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,788.01 points, up 65.99 or 1.77 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,461.98 points, up 72.96 or 1.14 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 21,313.14 points, up 222.65 or 1.06 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japanese markets were closed today for a national holiday, Respect for the Aged Day. They will reopen today. On Friday, the Nikkei average rose 1.23 percent or 116.59 points to 9,626.09, its highest finish since August 6.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Shares in Hong Kong closed little changed with investors trimming positions ahead of regional holidays and as a weak mainland market weighed. The Hang Seng Index closed a tad higher at 21,977.34.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian shares fell 0.2 percent, recovering from steeper losses earlier in the day as heavyweight mining and bank stocks partly recouped their losses in light trade. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 7.6 points to 4,631.3, after trading as high as 4,670 on Wednesday, a four-month high.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar, but was trapped in narrow ranges as dealers looked to current account data on Wednesday and the outcome of a ruling party meeting later this week. The All-share index closed at 28,710.93 points, up 297.37 or 1.05 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,526.24 points, down 1.85 or 0.07 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 24,059.44 points, up 353.37 or 1.49 percent.