EUROPE STOCKS EXCHANGE: European shares staged a late rally to close higher, buoyed by gains on Wall Street and a strong performance from banking stocks after Credit Suisse posted forecast-beating earnings.
Deutsche Telekom was among the biggest positive influences, climbing 2.6 percent after ruling out entering a bidding war for UK mobile operator O2. It also announced big job cuts.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,205.1 points on heavy turnover of more than 3.5 billion shares.
FRANKFURT STOCKS EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 4,954.83 points, up 32.28 or 0.66 percent.
PARIS STOCKS EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 4,429.65 points, down 5.1 or 0.12 percent.
ZURICH STOCKS EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 7,117.39 points, up 16.76 or 0.24 percent.
MILAN STOCKS EXCHANGE: The All Share Mibtel index closed at 25,188 points, up 143 or 0.57 percent.
SYDNEY STOCKS EXCHANGE: Shares slid, weighed by weaker-than-expected building approvals data and as markets digested a warning from Prime Minister John Howard about a potential terror threat.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index shed 18.4 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 4,456.3.
JOHANNESBURG STOCKS EXCHANGE: Diversified miner BHP Billiton led the South African bourse's top-40 blue chip index a tad lower on concerns over oil and cooking coal output, while retailers surged on stronger sales figures. The All-share index closed at 16,566.94 points, up 8.87 or 0.05 percent.
The All Gold index closed at 2,016.67 points, up 5.27 or 0.26 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 12,273.92 points, up 123.9 or 1.02 percent.