LONDON - Britain's top shares fell led by a plunge in BP shares after the company's failure to stem an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but they finished off lows thanks to upbeat U.S. construction data. The FTSE 100 closed down 25.13 points or 0.5 percent at 5,163.30, its lowest close since May 26, in a choppy session in which the index dropped as low as 5,063.20.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares recovered from steep losses to close slightly higher, as strong U.S. data helped to ease investors' worries about the global economic recovery, though BP fell heavily. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.2 percent to close at 1,002.80 points, having been down as much as 2 percent earlier.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROpean markets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,981.27 points, up 16.94 or 0.28 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,503.08 points, down 4.48 or 0.13 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,316.6 points, up 4 or 0.06 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 19,906.75 points, down 243.55 or 1.21 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average slipped 0.58 percent, with an erroneous transaction dragging down the market in thin trade as investors looked for signs markets are settling down after stocks took a mauling last month. The Nikkei shed 56.87 points to 9,711.83, snapping a four-day run of gains.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong and Shanghai shares fell after data showed China's manufacturing growth slowed in May, and as fears of further tightening in the Chinese property market weighed on shares of developers. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.36 percent or 268.24 points to 19,496.95.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Stocks slipped 0.37 percent, after unconvincing economic data and some cautious remarks from the central bank left investors with few reasons to buy the market. The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 16.6 points to 4,413.1.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand steadied against the dollar paring earlier losses and local stocks also staged a last-minute rebound after US data eased some concerns. The All-share index closed at 27,309.06 points, up 163.7 or 0.60 percent.