LONDON - Strength in Vodafone and defensive tobacco stocks pushed Britain's top share index into positive ground by close, but gains were muted and offset by sliding commodity stocks. The FTSE 100 closed at 4,280.86 points, up 2.4 or 0.06 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares closed higher supported by the US Philadelphia Federal survey which came in better than expected, while banking stocks reversed earlier losses to add the most points to the index.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.6 percent at 850.62 points after hitting its day's high 852.78 points earlier, snapping a four day losing streak, although the index is down about 3.9 percent for the week.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 4,837.48 points, up 37.5 or 0.78 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,194.06 points, up 32.92 or 1.04 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 5,376.84 points, up 74.55 or 1.41 percent.

MILAN - The FT Italian All Share index closed at 19,920.45, up 188.21 or 0.95 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - The Nikkei average fell 1.4 percent, pulling away from last week's eight-month high, as banks such as Mizuho Financial Group tracked their US peers lower, while exporters including Honda Motor Co. dropped on a strong yen versus the dollar. The Nikkei ended the day down 137.13 points at 9,703.72.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares drifted into a fourth straight day of losses, dragged by caution over ratings downgrades at US banks and the spread of H1N1 influenza, while Shanghai stocks rose on optimism about China's economic recovery. The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished the day's trade below the 18,000-point level, losing 1.7 percent or 307.94 points at 17,776.66.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian shares fell for a fourth consecutive day, led down by major miners such as Rio Tinto, though firmer banking stocks offered some support. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3.892.1, extending a decline from seven-month highs hit last week.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South African stocks snapped a four-day losing streak, boosted by a rally in commodity shares, but the rand weakened against the dollar, weighed down by a bigger than expected current account deficit. The All-share index closed at 22,156.41 points, up 207.75 or 0.95 percent.

The All Gold index closed at 2,440.38 points, up 54.7 or 2.29 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 17,260.16 points, up 13.3 or 0.08 percent.