LONDON - Britain's top shares gained 0.5 percent lifted by strength in banks and commodity issues after reassuring news on Greece's debt situation and as investors awaited the outcome of a US Federal Reserve meeting. The FTSE 100 closed at 5,620.43 points, up 26.58 or 0.48 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European stocks ended higher, reversing all of the previous session's losses after Standard & Poor's affirmed its credit ratings on Greece's debt, while energy shares tracked a strong rally in oil prices.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed one percent higher at 1,061.17 points after rising to as high as 1,063.71 in the session, just a few points shy of a seven-week high reached last Friday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,970.99 points, up 67.43 or 1.14 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,938.95 points, up 48.04 or 1.23 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,874.43 points, up 49.33 or 0.72 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 23,112.38 points, up 241.99 or 1.06 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.28 percent, with profit-taking in recent gainers such as Canon Inc. weighing on the index in the wake of its rise to a seven-week high the previous day.

In light trade, the benchmark Nikkei index ended down 30.27 points at 10,721.71, having slipped from Monday's seven-week intraday high of 10,808.84.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Shares fell for a third straight session. The Hang Seng Index ended down 0.27 percent or 56.17 points at 21,022.93. Turnover was HK$50.3 billion ($6.5 billion), up slightly from Monday's HK$49.4 billion.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Stocks edged up 0.28 percent, with investors reluctant to take big positions after a recent rally and ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended up 13.2 points at 4,797.2, after declining 34 points on Monday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South African stocks rose as sentiment improved on the back of firmer global equities, with investors buying local mining and industrial shares, and retailer Pick 'n Pay hit a new record high.

The All-share index closed at 28,252.59 points, up 219.72 or 0.78 percent.

The All Gold index closed at 2,219.31 points, up 32.03 or 1.46 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 22,554.02 points, up 154.13 or 0.69 percent.