LONDON - Britain's leading shares rose on breaking their worst losing streak for seven months, as gains in shares of oil producer BP and a sharp rally on Wall Street offset declines in mining and financial stocks. The FTSE 100 closed at 6,588.4 points, up 21 or 0.32 percent.ROUNDUP:EUROFIRSTEUROPE - European shares closed slightly weaker but above session lows in a late rally following gains on Wall Street, where lower bond yields boosted stocks.

Among standout losers, France Telecom fell nearly two percent after news of a share placing.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down nearly 0.1 percent at 1,597.5 but still weaker for the third day in a row with interest rate worries and widening credit spreads weighing on the markets in the past few days.ROUNDUP:EUROmarketsFRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7,930.61 points, down 19.02 or 0.24 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 6,002.85 points, down 20.4 or 0.34 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 9,141.23 points, down 25.26 or 0.28 percent.

MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 32,945 points, down 58 or 0.18 percent.ROUNDUP:nikkeiTOKYO - The Nikkei share average slipped 0.56 percent as Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. Ltd. and other property firms were hit by concerns about higher interest rates at home and worries about the US subprime mortgage market. The Nikkei finished down 101.15 points at 18,087.48.ROUNDUP:hang sengHONG KONG - Stocks retreated from new highs after investors sold recent gainers such as PetroChina as the prospect of policy tightening by Beijing sent mainland stock markets tumbling. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 0.81 percent, or 177.56 points, at 21,822.35, having earlier tapped its fifth straight record at 22,085.59.ROUNDUP:asxSYDNEY - Shares fell 0.83 percent, with Macquarie Bank Ltd. losing ground on concerns about its exposure to the U.S. financial sector and BHP Billiton Ltd. down on lower copper prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 52.8 points to 6,329.8, recovering from the day's low of 6,315.0. The index, which has fallen 1.1 percent in the past three sessions, settled at its lowest since June 15.ROUNDUP:south africaJOHANNESBURG - Mining stocks, led by Anglo American, and mobile operator MTN pushed South Africa's blue chip Top-40 index lower, amid investor concern about lower metal prices and a possible interest rate hike. The All-share index closed at 28,914.44 points, down 179.88 or 0.62 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,585.49 points, down 11.36 or 0.44 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19,616.78 points, down 89.68 or 0.46 percent.