LONDON - Britain's top share index hit a six-week closing high and rose for a third straight session, led by banks with HSBC firmer after the previous session's post results sell-off. The FTSE 100 closed at 5,484.06 points, up 78.12 or 1.45 percent.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST
EUROPE - European shares hit a near six-week closing high, with HSBC rebounding and miners supported by firm metals prices, offsetting falls in Prudential after it agreed to buy AIG's Asian insurance arm.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed 0.8 percent higher at 1,027.29 points, hitting its highest closing level since January 21.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets
FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,776.56 points, up 63.05 or 1.1 percent.
PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,811.92 points, up 42.38 or 1.12 percent.
ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,820.04 points, up 28.56 or 0.42 percent.
MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 21,965.82 points, up 125.58 or 0.57 percent.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei
TOKYO - The Nikkei average rose 0.49 percent, buoyed by gains in chip-linked stocks such as Advantest after a bullish outlook from flash memory maker SanDisk Corp pushed up shares of their US peers. The benchmark Nikkei rose 49.78 points to 10,221.84, after falling as low as 10,150.3 at one stage.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng
HONG KONG - Stocks ended lower as selling triggered by disappointing HSBC Holdings earnings dominated trading, while stocks in China eased as investors took profit on small caps after a recent rally. The Hang Seng Index closed down 0.72 percent or 150.82 points at 20,906.11.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx
SYDNEY - Stocks rose 0.33 percent, taking gains to three straight days as the market built on Wall Street's rises, but the central bank's interest rate hike limited the upside. The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 15.37 points at 4,701.90. It rose 48.8 points on Monday.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar, partly lifted by expectations of foreign currency inflows from an anticipated eurobond issue, while stocks notched a third day of gains, helped by higher metals prices. The All-share index closed at 27,371.92 points, up 345.9 or 1.28 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,214.75 points, up 47.55 or 2.19 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 21,854.82 points, up 287.78 or 1.33 percent.
