LONDON - Britain's leading share index scored its biggest one-day percent rise in nearly 18 months as the $1 trillion euro zone rescue package doused concerns of EU debt defaults and further economic dislocation. The FTSE 100 closed at 5,387.42 points, up 264.4 or 5.16 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares posted their biggest daily rise in more than 17 months after European central banks started to buy euro zone government bonds under a $1 trillion rescue package.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares surged 7.4 percent to close at 1,038.91 points - the index's biggest one-day percentage gain since November 24, 2008 - while volumes were more than two and a half times the index's 90-day average volume.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,017.91 points, up 302.82 or 5.3 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,720.29 points, up 327.7 or 9.66 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,481.95 points, up 276.32 or 4.45 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 21,547.32 points, up 2,046.57 or 10.49 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.6 percent, buoyed by a technical rebound after falling over 6 percent last week and by the massive stabilisation plan for the euro zone. The Nikkei climbed 166.11 points to 10,530.7.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks rose by the most in five months as a plan put together by the European Union and International Monetary Fund to prevent a sovereign debt crisis from spreading sparked a rally in global equities. The Hang Seng closed up 506.35 points at 20,426.64.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian stocks rose 2.7 percent, the sharpest rise in more than five months, after the euro zone stabilisation plan relieved investors. The S&P/ASX 200 index ended up 119.07 points at 4,599.78 points, to post its sharpest daily rise since the end of November last year.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South African markets rebounded with global assets as investors cheered a $1 trillion emergency package to stabilise the euro and Euro zone debt woes. The All-share index closed at 27,661.61 points, up 1,146.54 or 4.32 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,387.03 points, down 53.6 or 2.2 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 21,695.93 points, up 808.64 or 3.87 percent.