The CAC-40 index closed at 3,819.68 points, up 13.53 or 0.36 percent. ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 5,695.2 points, up 7.5 or 0.13 percent. MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 23,475 points, up 63 or 0.27 percent. TOKYO - Japanese financial markets were closed on Thursday for a national holiday. Trade will resume on Friday. The Nikkei had ended Wednesday up 83.52 points at 11,209.44. HONG KONG - Stocks finished more than half a percent higher with funds originally destined for the city's stalled REIT trickling into blue chip darlings such as COSCO Pacific and Esprit. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 0.6 percent, or 84.22 points to close at 14,235.30. SYDNEY - Stocks closed softer as a recent strong run succumbed to weaker metals prices and position-squaring ahead of the holidays. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended 6.4 points, or 0.16 percent, lower at 4025.9. The market will be open for half a day on Friday. JOHANNESBURG - Mining shares weighed on South Africa's bourse as a robust rand took the shine off giants Anglo American Plc, BHP Billiton and Gold Fields, but banks rallied in a mixed day of trading. The All-share index closed at 12,504.06 points, up 7.96 or 0.06 percent. The All Gold index closed at 1,605.65 points, down 18.69 or 1.15 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 9,643.36 points, up 21.09 or 0.22 percent. --SP 2155 Local Time 1855 GMT
