LONDON - Britain's index of 100 leading shares ended lower but a turnaround in GlaxoSmithKline helped the index to rebound from the day's losses which had been driven by China's move to triple a share-trading tax.

The FTSE 100 closed at 6602.1 points, down 4.4 or 0.07 percent.ROUNDUP:EUROFIRSTEUROPE - European shares clawed back much of their earlier losses to end the session a touch lower as Wall Street shrugged off a steep fall in Shanghai stocks.

Oil companies weighed as crude fell, while Nokia rose after upbeat comments on gross margins for its low-cost cellphone unit. GlaxoSmithKline gained after it sought to reaffirm the safety of its diabetes drug.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.14 percent at 1,599.21 points. ROUNDUP:EUROmarketsFRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7764.97 points, down 16.07 or 0.21 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 6042.15 points, down 14.24 or 0.24 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 9382.77 points, down 13.24 or 0.14 percent.

MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 33539 points, down 60 or 0.18 percent.ROUNDUP:nikkeiTOKYO - The Nikkei average fell 0.5 percent after China tripled its tax on stock trading, raising concern the Shanghai market was headed for a sharp downturn.

The Nikkei finished down 84.30 points at 17,588.26.ROUNDUP:hang sengHONG KONG - Hong Kong blue chips fell 0.9 percent, tracking a slide in mainland equities after Beijing hiked the stock trading tax, and sparking near-record volume amid a broad-based sell-off led by mainland financial plays.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished down 175.83 points to end at 20,293.76.ROUNDUP:asxSYDNEY - Australian shares fell 1.2 percent to a one-month closing low, led by losses in the top banks and miners, as a slide in Chinese shares sparked fears of another global equity market sell-off.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 74.2 points to close at 6,243.4.ROUNDUP:south africaJOHANNESBURG - South African stocks slid, led by financial and industrial stocks as China's move to cool its booming market hit global equities and a jump in local inflation bolstered the case for an interest rate hike.

The All-share index closed at 28439.4 points, down 226.56 or 0.79 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2678.31 points, down 25.56 or 0.95 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19689.02 points.