Closing stock market indices

Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Wednesday.
EUROPE STOCK EXCHANGE: European shares ended higher, buoyed by France Telecom's plan to double its dividend, while a dip in oil prices and an upward revision to US gross domestic product data bolstered sentiment. Oracle's higher-than-expected quarterly net profit propped up rival software maker SAP, while upgrades by Credit Suisse First Boston on chip makers Infineon and STMicroelectronics also cheered the tech sector. A 1.5 percent slide in oil prices, while boosting the overall market, pressured heavily weighted energy stocks such as Royal Dutch, and this put a slight cap on equity gains. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips gained 0.3 percent to 1,143.9 points, bringing it a mere 0.7 percent away from last week's three-year high of 1,151.74.
FRANKFURT STOCK EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 4,583.63 points, up 26.17 or 0.57 percent.
PARIS STOCK EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 4,231.88 points, up 37.55 or 0.90 percent.
ZURICH STOCK EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 6,261.24 points, up 52.68 or 0.85 percent.
MILAN STOCK EXCHANGE: The All Share Mibtel index closed at 24,625 points, up 148 or 0.60 percent.
SYDNEY STOCK EXCHANGE: The Australian stock market fell in choppy trade, as investors focused on the effect of high oil prices on global growth despite a retreat by oil futures from record highs. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 7.8 points, or 0.18 percent, to 4,263.
JOHANNESBURG STOCK EXCHANGE: Benign inflation data and a weaker rand combined to lift shares, but media powerhouse Naspers tumbled on a disappointing profit outlook. The All-share index closed at 14,183.47 points, up 117.63 or 0.84 percent. The All Gold index closed at 1,752.92 points, up 63.83 or 3.78 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 10,365.76 points, up 61.85 or 0.60 percent.