LONDON - Britain's top share index ended 0.44 percent lower, as a corruption probe hit stock in BAE Systems and banking stocks struggled as concerns over subprime mortgages cast their shadow. The FTSE 100 benchmark ended down 29.1 points at 6,559.3, back in negative territory after breaking a five-day losing streak on Monday, but well off its day low of 6,539.9 as recovering US indexes lent some support.ROUNDUP:EUROfirstEUROPE - European stocks closed lower, dropping for a fourth straight session amid worries over interest rates while concerns over trouble at two US hedge funds spread to the European financial sector.

Among the laggards, British military contractor BAE tumbled nearly 8 percent after the US justice department launched an anti-corruption probe.

"Rising rates are clearly the major driver for this corrective phase," said Philippe Gijsels, senior equity strategist at Fortis Bank in Brussels.

"Coupled with that, you have all the worries in the US housing and subprime mortgage sectors," he said.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.7 percent at 1,587.00 points. The benchmark index, still up about seven percent so far this year, has lost two percent over the past four sessions.ROUNDUP:EUROmarketsFRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7,860.52 points, down 70.09 or 0.88 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 5,953.36 points, down 49.49 or 0.82 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 9,073.33 points, down 67.9 or 0.74 percent.

MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 32,608 points, down 337 or 1.02 percent.ROUNDUP>nikkeiTOKYO - The Nikkei average trod water in slow trade, as Tokyo Electron Ltd. and other exporters were hit by a slight rise in the yen, while property firms such as Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. Ltd. recouped recent losses. The Nikkei ended down 0.12 percent, or 21.37 points, at 18,066.11.NDUP:Hang SengHONG KONG - Blue chips ended little changed, as Sun Hung Kai Properties rallied on a broker upgrade, eclipsing losses in CNOOC Ltd. and other China plays following their stellar run. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 18.78 points, or 0.09 percent, at 21,.57.ROUNDUP:ASXSYDNEY - Shares fell 0.33 percent as growing worries about the US subprime mortgage market weighed down on US-exposed firms such as Macquarie Bank and Westfield Group. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 21.2 points to cloat 6,308.6.ROUNDUP:south africaJOHANNESBURG - Tumbling platinum miners Anglo Platinum and Impala Platinum helped pushed the blue chip Top-40 index lower as precious metals prices fell. The All-share index closed at 28,746.43 points, down 168.01 or 0.58 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,537.99 points, down 47.5 or 1.84 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19,570.21 points, down 46.57 or 0.24 percent.