LONDON - Britain's top share index rose as a bout of merger and acquisition activity among financial stocks offset lingering concerns over the US mortgage market ahead of corporate results later this week.

The FTSE 100 closed at 6624.4 points, up 39.2 or 0.60 percent, rebounding after Friday's losses.ROUNDUP:EUROFIRSTEUROPE - European equities closed up, boosted by gains in US stocks and a three percent jump in Barclays, which raised its bid for take-over target ABN AMRO, helped by investments from China and Singapore.

The UK bank also unveiled strong first-half results. ABN AMRO, which is also being courted by a consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland, rose 0.7 percent.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index finished 0.6 percent stronger at a provisional 1,609.74, the day's high.ROUNDUP:EUROmarketsFRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7944.21 points, up 69.36 or 0.88 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 6009.16 points, up 52 or 0.87 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 9117.45 points, up 11.99 or 0.13 percent.

MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 32856 points, up 169 or 0.52 percent.ROUNDUP:nikkei>TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average sank 1.07 percent to its lowest close in nearly four weeks with exporters down on a stronger yen, while mobile carrier KDDI and its rivals fell on concern about price competition.

The Nikkei average lost 194.29 points to close at 17,963.64.ROUNDUP:hang sengHONG KONG - Hong Kong blue chips edged up 0.3 percent to their second straight record finish, while China plays jumped 1.3 percent as investors brushed off the latest interest rate rise by Beijing.

The Hang Seng Index ended up 73.66 points at 23,365.56.ROUNDUP:asx<.5b0>SYDNEY - Australian shares fell 0.5 percent as fresh concerns about the US subprime crisis pressured US-exposed firms such as Brambles, while energy firms fell on lower oil prices.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 31.4 points to end at 6,390.4.ROUNDUP:south africaJOHANNESBURG - South African shares climbed, given a lift by the banking sector on the back of hopes that the central bank will leave rates on hold next month.

The All-share index closed at 29885.27 points, up 193.23 or 0.65 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2742.68 points, down 32.2 or 1.16 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 20473.31 points, up 80.33 or 0.39 percent.