LONDON - Britain's top share index shed one percent in the wake of weaker than expected consumer confidence figures in the US, with banks, miners and food retailers leading the fallers. The FTSE 100 closed at 4,249.21 points, down 44.82 or 1.04 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares fell, led lower by banks and energy companies, after US consumer confidence readings proved weaker than expected, but European equities gained 15.9 percent over the second quarter. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 1.1 percent to 850.17 points. The index rose 15.9 percent over the second quarter, its best performance since 1999, having hit a lifetime low on March 9.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 4,808.64 points, down 76.45 or 1.56 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,140.44 points, down 53.24 or 1.67 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 5,403.97 points, down 39.48 or 0.73 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 19,785.29 points, down 35.68 or 0.18 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.8 percent to finish April-June up 23 percent, its best quarterly gain since 1995, buoyed by growing hopes that the worst of the global economic slump may be over. The Nikkei ended up 174.97 points at 9,958.44, after briefly rising to as high as 10,000 and edging up towards an eight-month intraday high of 10,170.82 hit earlier in June.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares finished their best quarter in more than 15 years with a whimper, as investors locked in some of the gains made during a stellar four-month rally that began in March. The Hang Seng Index finished down 0.81 percent at 18,378.73, but tacked on 1.1 percent in its fourth straight month of gains in June.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian shares rose 1.8 percent, capping their best quarterly performance since 2004, as an earnings upgrade by retailer David Jones backed hopes the economic recovery may be gathering pace. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 68 points at a two-week closing high of 3,954.9 points.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand firmed as much as two percent against the greenback, buoyed by talk of a large dollar selling order from two international banks as well as domestic data showing a trade surplus for May.

The All-share index closed at 22,049.42 points, down 254.81 or 1.14 percent.