LONDON - Britain's top share index closed 0.4 percent higher as economic figures from US helped turn the market positive, with stronger oils and banks outpacing weaker mining stocks. The FTSE 100 closed at 4,916.8 points, up 20.57 or 0.42 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares hit their highest closing since October after better-than-expected US house prices and consumer confidence data lifted investor spirits, with oils and banks rebounding from earlier losses.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.4 percent at 978.76 points, rising for the fourth consecutive day, after falling to a low of 967.98 points earlier in the session.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,557.09 points, up 37.34 or 0.68 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,680.61 points, up 28.44 or 0.78 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 6,200.85 points, up 6.46 or 0.1 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 22,928.67 points, up 114.05 or 0.5 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average drifted lower, hit by profit-taking after surging 3.4 percent the day before, with investors finding few reasons to buy actively before Japan's August 30 election and US economic data. Exporters lost ground after leading Monday's rally, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell in the wake of losses in US peers after a veteran banking analyst said 150 to 200 more US banks would fail during the banking crisis. The Nikkei lost 0.8 percent or 83.69 points to 10,497.36.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks trimmed their losses to end 0.49 percent lower yesterday after earlier tracking Shanghai's retreat on profit-taking following recent rallies. The Hang Seng Index finished down 100.7 points at 20,435.24.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian stocks fell 0.5 percent as investors took some profits after the previous session's sharp rally, with Wesfarmers shares rattled by news of tougher competition for its hardware stores. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 20.3 points to 4,405.8.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand hit a three-week high against the dollar tracking higher global markets while local stocks snapped a five-day winning streak on miners.

The All-share index closed at 25,186.1 points, down 88.59 or 0.35 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,343.68 points, up 26.32 or 1.14 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19,546.27 points, down 139.34 or 0.71 percent.