LONDON - Britain's top share index closed lower after disappointing Chicago PMI data, with energy stocks, banks and miners among the biggest laggards on the last session of a strong quarter. The FTSE 100 closed at 5,133.9 points, down 25.82 or 0.50 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares fell after US regional business activity contracted in September, but the main FTSEurofirst 300 index still managed to post its best quarterly rise in nearly 10 years.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.5 percent lower at 997.56 points, dragged down by banks and oil producers.

The index was up 17.3 percent in July-September, its biggest quarterly rise since December 1999. It rose nearly 16 percent in the previous quarter but was still down 39 percent from a peak in mid-2007.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,675.16 points, down 38.36 or 0.67 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,795.41 points, down 18.69 or 0.49 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,323.18 points, up 6.46 or 0.10 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 23,939.7 points, down 78.76 or 0.33 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average edged up 0.3 percent in cautious trade, with investors hesitant to actively take positions ahead of a series of economic data releases and at the end of Japan's fiscal half-year. The Nikkei rose 33.03 points to 10,133.23. It climbed 1.8 percent in the July-September quarter, after surging nearly 23 percent in April-June.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's stock index capped off a subdued third-quarter with a lower close as investors took profit on blue chips amid caution ahead of a holiday. The index fell 0.28 percent, or 57.92 points, to 20,955.25.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian shares slipped 0.2 percent, to 4,743.6 at the close in Sydney. The gauge has advanced 5.9 percent this month, and 20 percent in the past three months, the biggest quarterly advance on record.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - The All-Share Index was up 55.74 points (0.22 percent) at 24,910.85.