LONDON - Britain's top share index rose 0.5 percent, hitting a fresh 21-month closing high, led by commodity, energy and banking stocks as fears over monetary tightening effects ebbed. The FTSE 100 closed at 5,673.63 points, up 29.09 or 0.52 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares hit a more than 17-month high, boosted by Cairn Energy after it gave an upbeat outlook and by insurer Legal & General, which reported better than expected results.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed up 0.7 percent at 1,072.44 points, its highest closing level since early October 2008.

The index, which gained around 26 percent in 2009, is up 2.6 percent this year.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,017.27 points, up 29.77 or 0.5 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,952.55 points, up 24.55 or 0.63 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,877.16 points, up 10.73 or 0.16 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 23,281.31 points, up 159.36 or 0.69 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.5 percent, moving further away from two-month highs hit last week, with All Nippon Airways sliding after the airline more than doubled its annual loss estimate. The Nikkei fell 50.57 points to 10,774.15 after last week hitting a two-month high near 10,900. The index rose 0.7 percent last week for its sixth straight weekly gain.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares gave up most of their earlier gains to end up 0.3 percent, with export-related issues posting sharp gains on optimism overseas demand will rise as the global economy recovers. The Hang Seng Index closed up 54.53 points at 20,987.78.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian stocks resumed their upward climb, gaining for the fifth time in six sessions as financial firms benefited from optimism about recovery in the global economy. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 44.6 points or 0.9 percent to 4,874.8.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's steadied against the dollar and local stocks inched lower, consolidating after strong gains in the past few weeks.

The All-share index closed at 28,451.01 points, down 93.14 or 0.33 percent.

The All Gold index closed at 2,219.57 points, down 11.52 or 0.52 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 22,756.99 points, down 228.52 or 0.99 percent.