LONDON — Britain's top share index shed earlier gains to end down 0.5 percent, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments that US inflation was not about to subside, deflating hopes of an interest rate cut. The FTSE 100 closed at 6,632.8 points, down 31.3 or 0.47 percent.ROUNDUP:EUROFIRSTEUROPE — European shares fell for a second day as investors anticipated possible inflation warnings from the European Central Bank after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said US price pressures may linger. Low-cost airline Ryanair posted the largest daily fall, shedding 8 percent after forecasting a drop in profit growth that hit the entire airline sector.

Bernanke said there was a risk that elevated levels of core inflation might not recede just yet, which stripped 0.4 percent off US blue-chip stocks as investors all but ruled out a stocks-friendly rate cut this year.ROUNDUP:EUROPEAN MARKETSFRANKFURT — The DAX index ended at 7,919.83 points, down 56.96 or 0.71 percent.

PARIS — The CAC-40 index closed at 6,078.54 points, down 47.27 or 0.77 percent.

ZURICH — The Swiss market index closed at 9,408.22 points, down 79.28 or 0.84 percent.

MILAN — The All Share Mibtel index closed at 33,575 points, up 127 or 0.38 percent.ROUNDUP:NIKKEITOKYO — The Nikkei average rose 0.45 percent to close above the psychologically important 18,000 for the first time in three months as Tokyo got support from energy stocks such as INPEX after oil prices topped $70 a barrel. The Nikkei added 80.39 points to finish at 18,053.81.ROUNDUP:HANG SENGHONG KONG — Hong Kong stocks swung to a 0.5 percent gain after mainland equities reversed sharp losses and oil shares climbed on rising crude prices, with CNOOC hitting a fresh record. The Hang Seng Index closed up 112.56 points at 20,842.15.ROUNDUP:ASXSYDNEY — Australian stocks fell 0.35 percent as worries about the volatile China stock market triggered profit taking in recent gainers such as the top banks, while wholesaler Metcash fell on a disappointing 2008 growth outlook. The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 22.1 points to close at 6,370.8, cooling from a record closing high set in the previous session.ROUNDUP:SOUTH AFRICAJOHANNESBURG — South African stocks posted slight gains as profit taking and speculation over an anticipated interest rate hike continued to dictate activity on the market. The All-share index closed at 28,865.9 points, up 28.38 or 0.10 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,734.91 points, down 5.63 or 0.21 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19,575.21 points, down 34.06 or 0.17 percent.