LONDON - Britain's index of 100 leading shares fell to it lowest close in a month in choppy trade as the prospect of higher interest rates spooked investors, with insurers, banks and real estate stocks weighing most.

The FTSE ended 0.27 percent or 17.6 points lower at 6,505.1.ROUNDUP:EUROFIRSTEUROPE - European shares extended their slide for a fourth consecutive day, hit by a rise in bond yields and deepening concerns over the outlook for interest rates in both Europe and the United States.

Shares in the utilities and banking sectors, particularly sensitive to rate hikes, were among the most hit, with Germany's E.ON losing 2.9 percent, Suez slipping 3.7 percent, and UBS falling two percent.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 1.1 percent lower at 1,568.56 points.ROUNDUP:EUROmarketsFRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7618.61 points, down 111.44 or 1.44 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 5890.49 points, down 87.38 or 1.46 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 9152.08 points, down 125.41 or 1.35 percent.

MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 32773 points, down 295 or 0.89 percent.ROUNDUP:nikkei>TOKYO - The Nikkei edged up 0.07 percent as investors bought Komatsu and other machinery stocks ahead of machinery orders data on Friday, while Softbank gained as industry data showed it added the most users in May.

The Nikkei rose 12.45 points to close at 18,053.38.ROUNDUP:hang sengHONG KONG - Hong Kong blue chips held steady as investors found solace in mostly higher Asian markets, helping to offset morning losses triggered by overnight sell-offs in US and European equities.

The Hang Seng Index ended at 20,800.16, down 18.45 points, or 0.09 percent.ROUNDUP:asx<.5b0>SYDNEY - Australian shares fell 0.4 percent as worries about higher interest rates at home and overseas hit rate-sensitive banking stocks, while further weakness in metal prices weighed down on mining firms.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 26 points to close at 6,311.1.ROUNDUP:south africaJOHANNESBURG - South African stocks closed marginally higher after the reserve bank raised rates, with financial stocks recovering after a week where market uncertainty hurt banking stocks such as Standard Bank and Absa.

The All-share index closed 0.05 percent stronger at 28,554.32 points. The All Gold index closed at 2656.11 points, down 19.14 or 0.72 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19429.89 points, down 72.36 or 0.37 percent.