LONDON (AP) — Chinese shares led world markets lower yesterday amid mounting concerns Beijing will raise interest rates to cool its overheating economy. Ongoing fears that Ireland will need a financial bailout also kept investors on edge.

Investors also found scant cheer from a meeting of global leaders in South Korea that did little to defuse currency and trade tensions and from a report that European economic growth slowed in the third quarter.

France's CAC-40 was down 36.23 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 3,831.12 while Britain's FTSE 100 index of leading British shares fell 18.36 points, or 0.3 percent to end at 5,796.87. Germany's DAX was up just over 11 points to finish at 6,734.61.

Irish stocks rose, with the ISEQ20 index edging up half a point to 434.50, even after unconfirmed reports that Ireland was in talks for emergency bailout funding from the European Union. The country's finance ministry denied it applied for the money.

The reports came after European governments reassured investors that new, tougher terms for any future government bailout will not expose them to higher costs on their current holdings of Irish bonds. The statement was aimed at calming market fears and keeping investors from selling off Irish bonds.

China's Shanghai Composite index slid 5.2 percent to 2,985.44 as investors fretted about the possibility of more government measures to tighten credit and slow economic growth after inflation hit a 25-month high in October.

Flagging European growth figures did little to inspire investors.

Third-quarter growth in the 16-country euro zone slowed to 0.4 percent in the July to September period from 1 percent in the previous quarter, largely because of lower growth in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, and an unexpected fall in industrial output in the Netherlands.

German stocks fared better than others in Europe as investors seemed pleased by Germany's 0.7 percent growth, which was in line with forecasts and showed that the country's broad-based recovery was still healthy.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index ended down 136.65 points, or 1.4 percent, to 9,724.81 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.8 percent to 4,692.70.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.7 percent to 24,270.26 and South Korea's Kospi retreated 0.1 percent to 1,913.12.