LONDON - Britain's top share index closed lower, weighed down by energy stocks, though with a rally from miners limiting losses ahead of today's key US non-farm payroll figures. The FTSE 100 closed the session down 20.8 points, or 0.43 percent, at 4,796.75, having traded lower on the first two days of September.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares ended lower for a fourth straight session, pressured by energy and pharma stocks, with analysts detecting no early resumption of the market upswing without solid evidence of economic recovery. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.1 percent lower at 949.82 points after trading in a wide range of 947.37-958.02. It is up 14 percent this year and has surged 47 percent since hitting a record low in early March.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,301.42 points, down 18.42 or 0.35 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,553.51 points, down 19.62 or 0.55 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,073.72 points, down 15.52 or 0.25 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 22,394 points, up 174.34 or 0.78 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average lost 0.64 percent as exporters fell on worries about the US economy after dismal jobs data, but Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma rose on news it would bid for a US drug firm.

The benchmark Nikkei lost 65.82 points to 10,214.64, its lowest close in about two weeks, while the broader Topix fell 0.7 percent to 942.77.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Shares rose 1.23 percent trailing strong gains on Chinese bourses where an assurance from a top regulator sparked technical buying after the markets' recent sharp slump. The Hang Seng Index finished 239.68 points higher at 19,761.68.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 4,429.6 at the close in Sydney. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index rose 0.6 to 3,091.57 in Wellington.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index climbed for the first time in four days, adding 86.87, or 0.4 percent, to 24,623.08 in Johannesburg.