LONDON - Britain's top share index shed 1.1 percent knocked by weakness in heavyweight banks, miners, and oils, with defensive issues back in favour headed by International Power after pleasing H1 results.

By the close, the FTSE 100 index was 50.86 points lower at 4,671.34, weakening further after hitting a 10-month closing high of 4,731.56 on Friday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROFIRST

EUROPE - European shares closed lower as US economic data disappointed investors, with banking and commodity stocks weighing the most on the main index.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 1.3 percent at 932.22 points, losing for the second day in a row after hitting its highest close in more than nine months on Friday.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:EUROmarkets

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 5,285.81 points, down 132.31 or 2.44 percent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 3,456.18 points, down 48.36 or 1.38 percent.

ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 5,949.98 points, down 57.57 or 0.96 percent.

MILAN - The FT IT All Share index closed at 21,716.6 points, down 317.39 or 1.44 percent.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average hit its highest close in 10 months, with construction stocks such as Obayashi Corp. gaining in the wake of an earthquake and a storm that triggered mudslides.

In light trade, the Nikkei rose 0.6 percent or 61.2 points to 10,585.46, its highest finish since October 3.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:hang seng

HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares rose 0.7 percent as select stocks including Chinese Internet portal Tencent and bourse operator HKEx were snapped up on hopes of solid earnings growth in the second quarter.

The Hang Seng Index finished up 144.69 points at 21,074.21, ending above the 21,000-point level for the first time since September 2008.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:asx

SYDNEY - Australian stocks ended 0.65 percent higher, with a late rally wiping out early losses, as strength in the banks helped to outweigh weakness in resources stocks.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended up 27.9 points at 4,332.

@MARKET ROUNDUP:south africa

JOHANNESBURG - South African stocks slid, breaking seven days of gains as financials and miners lost ground while the rand shed more than one percent as global equities swooned amid waning risk appetite.

The All-share index closed at 24,681.68 points, down 389.33 or 1.55 percent.

The All Gold index closed at 2,322.59 points, down 96.16 or 3.98 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19,496.74 points, down 12.57 or 0.06 percent.