LONDON - Britain's top shares closed higher for the third straight session as miners and banks extended the previous day's gains but BP dragged energy stocks lower with fourth-quarter results that missed expectations. The FTSE 100 closed at 5,283.31 points, up 35.9 or 0.68 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares rose for the third consecutive session, with miners boosted after Australia left its interest rates unchanged and banks gained, but BP fell after its fourth-quarter results missed forecasts.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.9 percent at 1,027.18 points after being down as low as 1,012.31 earlier.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,709.66 points, up 55.18 or 0.98 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,812.13 points, up 50.12 or 1.33 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,550.12 points, up 53.79 or 0.83 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 22,942.35 points, up 396.44 or 1.76 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.6 percent, with Toyota Motors jumping after detailing plans of its fix for recalled vehicles, while exporters climbed on a weaker yen and strong US manufacturing data. The Nikkei ended up 166.07 points at 10,371.09.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks ended up 0.14 percent in a listless session, with metals counters spurred by higher commodity prices. Lender ICBC failed to sustain gains on worries about Beijing's credit controls. The Hang Seng Index was up 28.43 points at 20,272.18, after rising as high as 22, 533.96 earlier in the session.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian stocks rallied 1.8 percent, lifted by mining companies on strong US manufacturing data, and retailers on the central bank's surprise decision to hold interest rates steady. The S&P/ASX 200 index index added 81.1 points to 4,605.33, recovering from a near three-month closing low on Monday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand steadied against the dollar after hitting a 10-day high, while stocks advanced, snapping three days of losses as surging commodity prices bolstered miners.

The All-share index closed at 26,812.25 points, up 324.77 or 1.23 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,242.29 points, up 47.76 or 2.18 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 20,968.27 points, up 42.61 or 0.2 percent.