LONDON - Britain's top share index rose 0.5 percent, driven by gains in oil shares and after brokerage upgrades boosted stocks such as International Power and retailer Next. The FTSE 100 closed at 6,793 points, down 48 or 0.70 percent.ROUNDUP:EUROFIRSTEUROPE - European shares rose on a fresh wave of merger activity, including a proposed tie-up between Germany's Deutsche Boerse and US equity options market International Securities Exchange.

Cable & Wireless Plc — one of the top gainers among UK stocks — rose four percent although the British telecoms group played down reports it was considering a break-up, saying talk it was looking to spin off its businesses was premature. Oil stocks, including index heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell, were some of the biggest percentage gainers as crude futures held just shy of $68 a barrel after rising 3.0 percent last week.ROUNDUP:EUROmarketsFRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7,408.87 points, up 30.75 or 0.42 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 5,960.04 points, up 29.27 or 0.49 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 9,428.27 points, up 8.37 or 0.09 percent.

MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 33,979 points, up 87 or 0.26 percent.ROUNDUP:nikkei>TOKYO - All Japanese financial markets were closed today for a public holiday. The markets will reopen on Tuesday, May 1, but will be closed again on Thursday and Friday, May 3-4, for Golden Week holidays. On Friday the Nikkei average lost 0.17 percent or 28.76 points at 17,400.41.ROUNDUP:hang sengHONG KONG - Blue chips struck four-week lows before ending down 1.01 percent after China moved to rein in the country's credit growth, triggering a sell-off that hit mainland lenders and property shares hard. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 207.52 points to 20,318.98, earlier touching its lowest levels since April 4.ROUNDUP:asx<.5b0>SYDNEY - Shares rose 0.23 percent, supported by gains in the big miners following firmer base metal prices, but late profit-taking in banks kept gains in check. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 14.4 points to 6,166.0, recovering from a 1 percent fall in the previous session.ROUNDUP:south africaJOHANNESBURG - South African stocks inched higher as a smaller-than-expected trade deficit eased worries about a possible interest rate hike, but weaker precious metal prices hit gold and platinum miners.

The All-share index closed at 28,170.6 points, up 94.41 or 0.34 percent.

The All Gold index closed at 2,866.5 points, down 25.85 or 0.89 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19,948.27 points, up 202.15 or 1.02 percent.