LONDON - The FTSE 100 index of Britain's leading shares ended down 1.7 percent as inflationary concerns dragged stocks down ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate verdict on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 ended 110.1 points lower at 6,522.7, but was barely affected by the European Central Bank's widely-expected move to lift euro-zone rates to four percent during the session.ROUNDUP:EUROFirstsEUROPE - European shares fell for a third consecutive day after the European Central Bank raised interest rates, fuelling concerns that further rate hikes might be on the way.

Banking stocks weighed on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which closed 1.5 percent lower at 1,586.45 points.

The European Central Bank raised interest rates to a six-year high of four percent and showed its readiness to hike again to combat inflationary dangers in a strongly expanding economy.ROUNDUP:EUROmarketsFRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7730.05 points, down 189.78 or 2.40 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 5977.87 points, down 100.67 or 1.66 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 9277.49 points, down 130.73 or 1.39 percent.

MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 33068 points, down 507 or 1.51 percent.ROUNDUP:nikkei>TOKYO - The Nikkei ended flat as investors sold Advantest and other recent gainers, but Marubeni surged on news of its plan to invest in the United Arab Emirates and on a brokerage upgrade, helping the benchmark hold above 18,000.

The Nikkei dipped 0.07 percent, or 12.88 points, to close at 18,040.93.ROUNDUP:hang sengHONG KONG - Hong Kong blue chips erased morning gains as mobile handset maker Foxconn slid further after a broker downgrade and a share placement that priced the shares at a 1.5 percent discount.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 23.54 points at 20,818.61.ROUNDUP:asx<.5b0>SYDNEY - Australian shares fell 0.5 percent after a surge in domestic first-quarter economic growth sparked worries of an interest rate rise later this year, with rate-sensitive banking stocks leading falls.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended down 33.7 points at 6,337.1.ROUNDUP:south africaJOHANNESBURG - South African blue chip stocks closed over one percent down, dragged lower by miners, retailers and luxury goods group Richemont, as investors worried about a possible central bank interest rate hike.

The All-share index closed at 28538.84 points, down 327.06 or 1.13 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2675.25 points, down 59.66 or 2.18 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19502.25 points.