LONDON - Britain's top shares hit a 21-month closing high for the third day in a row, helped by a rally in banks as sovereign debt concerns faded, while retailers were boosted by upbeat results from Next and UK retail sales.

The FTSE 100 ended 49.77 points higher at 5,727.65, finishing above the 5,700-mark for the first time since June 19, 2008.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European equities ended at their highest level in nearly 18 months, boosted by banking shares, as hopes for a solution for Greece's fiscal problems and soothing US economic figures improved sentiment.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares finished one percent higher at 1,083.34 points, the highest close since early October of 2008.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,132.95 points, up 93.95 or 1.56 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 4,000.48 points, up 50.67 or 1.28 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,894.17 points, up 14.22 or 0.21 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 23,539.62 points, up 230.25 or 0.99 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.1 percent, with tech shares such as Advantest supported by hopes for strong earnings and by the yen's dip to a two-month low against the dollar the previous day.

The Nikkei rose 13.82 points to 10,828.85. The Nikkei hit a two-month intraday high of 10,880.62 on Wednesday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares closed down one percent to their lowest in three weeks, with consumer goods exporter Li & Fung down sharply after earnings failed to meet estimates.

The Hang Seng Index ended down 230 points at 20,778.55, the lowest since March 4.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian shares slipped, with European sovereign debt woes rattling investors again, but resources stocks helped to stem the decline, buoyed by world No.2 iron ore miner Rio Tinto.

The S&P/ASX 200 gave up 6.1 points to end at 4,885.4, coming off a two-month-high close the previous day.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand weakened while stocks edged higher and government bonds rallied after the Reserve Bank surprised markets by slashing its repo rate by 50 basis points.

The All-share index closed at 28,555.53 points, up 153.85 or 0.54 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,188.32 points, down 7.05 or 0.32 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 22,607.08 points, down 68.31 or 0.3 percent.