Created: May 11, 2007 11:00 AM
<Bz10>LONDON - Britain's leading share index ended lower as the Bank of England signalled further tightening after raising rates to their highest level in six years, but merger and acquisition activity lent support.The FTSE 100 closed down 25.5 points, or 0.39 percent at 6,524.1.ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST<Kz9.5b0> <Bz10>EUROPE - European shares ended lower as falls in mining stocks weighed after bid talk surrounding Rio Tinto subsided, and as the European Central Bank signalled it would raise rates again in June.
LONDON - Britain's top share index recovered from early losses to end higher and snapped a three-day losing streak, driven by acquisition talk and easing concerns of US inflation.
China's move to let its banks to invest client funds in overseas equities also boosted UK banks and the FTSE 100 closed up 41.6 points, or 0.64 percent at 6,565.7. However, the index lost 38 points over the week.ROUNDUP:EUROFIRSTEUROPE - European shares rose, boosted by merger and acquisition activity and the strong performance of US stocks after data pointed to moderating inflation. Among top gainers was Societe Generale, up almost four percent. The head of the French bank identified eight banks with whom it could strike a possible merger deal, a newsletter from the French CGT trade union said. The FTSEurofirst index of top European shares closed 0.6 percent higher at 1,582.09 points.ROUNDUP:EUROmarketsFRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7479.34 points, up 64.01 or 0.86 percent, but shedding 37.42 points since last weekend.
PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 6050.63 points, up 37.87 or 0.63 percent, losing 18.2 points on the week.
ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 9408.25 points, up 40.95 or 0.44 percent, but dropping 47.22 points since last Friday.
MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 33824 points, up 131 or 0.39 percent on the day, but down 266 on the week.ROUNDUP:nikkeiTOKYO - The Nikkei average sank 1.03 percent as Casio Computer tumbled on a downbeat forecast and broker downgrades, and investors sold high-tech exporters such as Sony on growing concerns about the U.S. economic outlook. The Nikkei closed down 183.24 points at 17,553.72. The index added 158.8 points over the week.ROUNDUP:hang sengHONG KONG - Hong Kong blue chips fell 1.3 percent as slumping US and mainland equity markets triggered a cross-the-board sell-off, with China Mobile leading the decline. All but one of the 38 blue chips fell.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index shed 278.06 points to close at 20,468.21, falling 372.87 points on the week.ROUNDUP:asxSYDNEY - Australian shares fell 0.9 percent as renewed worries about the health of the world's biggest economy pressured US-exposed firms such as Westfield Group, and as the top banks dropped back. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 58.1 points to close at 6,297.4, down 7.5 points since May 4.ROUNDUP:south africaJOHANNESBURG - South African stocks closed higher, boosted by heavyweight miner Anglo American's more than four percent rise after rumours that the miner would make a hostile bid for Rio Tinto.
The All-share index closed at 28671.48 points, up 232.62 or 0.82 percent, and rising 21.78 points in the week. The All Gold index closed at 2729.49 points, down 29.44 or 1.07 percent, and shedding 121.34 points since last weekend. The Industrial index closed at 19719.63 points, up 0.27 or 0.00 percent, but losing 148.98 on the week.
