LONDON - Britain's leading shares closed lower as falls in oil majors and food retailers offset gains in insurers, while the start of the earnings season later in the US is seen giving fresh direction to equities.

The FTSE 100 closed down 29.08 points, or 0.6 percent, at 5,108.9, having ended 2.3 percent higher on Tuesday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROfirst

EUROPE - European shares closed lower after two straight sessions of gains, with banking and oil stocks leading the fallers, as investors booked profits ahead of the start of the US earnings season.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 0.4 percent at 988.76 points. The index is up 19 percent this year and has surged 54 percent since hitting a record low in early March.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,640.75 points, down 16.89 or 0.3 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,756.41 points, down 13.8 or 0.37 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,260.15 points, down 17.01 or 0.27 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 23,897.61 points, down 42.87 or 0.18 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.1 percent, with shares of steel and metals companies rising in the wake of a jump in commodity prices, while banks climbed on continued optimism about the US financial sector.

The Nikkei rose 1.1 percent to 9,799.6, pulling away from an 11-week intraday low of 9,628.67 hit the previous day.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks ended up 2.07 percent at a two-week high, with a surge in gold and oil prices lifting resource shares, while banks rose on prospects that China may increase interest rates sooner than expected.

The Hang Seng Index rose 430.06 points to 21,241.59.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian stocks ended 2.3 percent higher as miners and banks rose after an interest-rate rise boosted confidence in an economic recovery.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 104.1 points to close at 4,695.7, adding to a 0.4 percent gain on Tuesday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand weakened against a resurgent dollar while the resource-heavy local bourse climbed for a third straight session on stronger commodity prices.

The All-share index closed at 25,298.97 points, up 279.25 or 1.12 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,664.15 points, up 30.45 or 1.16 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 20,050.26 points, up 229.32 or 1.16 percent.