LONDON - Britain's top shares closed lower, with Barclays leading banking shares lower after it posted first-half numbers, and as investor sentiment was dampened by downbeat US weekly jobless claims data.
The FTSE 100 closed down 20.38 points, or 0.38 percent, at 5,365.78, having fallen back from a session high of 5,416.76, after it ended 0.2 percent lower on Wednesday.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST
EUROPE - European shares edged lower, slipping from three-month highs hit earlier in the session, as weekly jobs data from the US heightened concerns over the economic recovery.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed 0.2 percent lower at 1,068.58 points.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets
FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,333.58 points, up 2.25 or 0.04 percent.
PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,764.19 points, up 3.47 or 0.09 percent.
ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,374.89 points, down 5.41 or 0.08 percent.
MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 21,762.59 points, down 151.49 or 0.69 percent.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei
TOKYO - The Nikkei rose 1.73 percent, regaining most of the ground it lost the day before as the dollar rebounded from an eight-month low against the yen on encouraging US employment and service sector data. The benchmark Nikkei gained 164.58 points to 9,653.92 after sliding 2.1 percent the previous day, hit by a stronger yen.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng
HONG KONG - The Hang Seng Index ended flat after trading in a narrow 156 point range through the day. The index found support from a rally in shares of Cathay Pacific, which advanced as much as seven percent, to their highest level in more than two-and-a-half year after its forecast-beating interim results on Wednesday. The index closed at 21,551.72, up 1.84 points.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx
SYDNEY - Shares rose 0.54 percent, supported by fresh talk of takeovers of some resource companies, and a recovery in bank shares after choppy trade. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 24.4 points to 4,566.5, after a fall of 0.7 percent on Wednesday.
@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar, recouping earlier losses to trade at near four-month highs, while stocks fell for the third session in a row led by mining and retail shares.
The All-share index closed at 28,527.88 points, down 12.58 or 0.04 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,433.17 points, down 5.45 or 0.22 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 23,107.68 points, down 71 or 0.31 percent.
