LONDON - UK markets were closed for the Spring bank holiday. They will reopen today. On Friday, the FTSE 100 ended 6.74 points or 0.1 percent lower at 5,188.43.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European equities closed higher, led by shares of German exporters, but a downgrade of Spain's credit rating weighed on Madrid-listed stocks, with Banco Santander and BBVA losing ground. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares unofficially closed the holiday-thin session up 0.3 percent at 1,000.55 points, capping off its worst month since February 2009.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROpean markets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,964.33 points, up 18.15 or 0.31 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,507.56 points, down 7.5 or 0.21 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,312.6 points, down 9.32 or 0.15 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 20,150.3 points, up 69.61 or 0.35 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average inched up for a fourth straight day of gains amid a lull in worries about Europe's debt crisis, with market players saying Fitch Ratings downgrade of Spain had already been priced in. The Nikkei rose 5.72 points to 9,768.70 in light trade.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Persistent fears about a government move to clamp down on real estate speculation pressured shares, which eased to their biggest monthly fall since January. The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended the day down 1.52 points at 19,765.19, snapping a three-day rally, on news that Hong Kong's government had decided not to award the tender for a HK$33 billion ($4.24 billion) housing project, suggesting that the city's real estate market was continuing to stagnate under government measures to curb speculation.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Stocks fell 0.62 percent and capped their worst monthly performance in more than a year and a half, as investors grew distressed about Europe's debt pile and Australia's proposed resources tax. The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 27.8 points to 4,429.7.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - The rand weakened against the dollar and stocks slipped slightly on persistent worries about debt problems in the euro zone, one of South Africa's biggest trading partners. The All-share index closed at 27,145.36 points, down 57.36 or 0.21 percent.