Closing stock market indices

Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Wednesday.
EUROPE STOCKS EXCHANGE: Gains in top UK insurer Aviva and defensive tobacco, food and beverage groups pushed European shares higher as some investors play safe amid concerns about valuations elsewhere in the market.
Take-over talk still gripped telecoms, sending French conglomerate Vivendi Universal up four percent on fresh talk that Britain's Vodafone might bid for the group to get control of Vivendi's SFR mobile unit.
Dutch telecom firm KPN gained 1.7 percent on a report it was in merger talks with France Telecom, which the French firm denied.
Meanwhile, Aviva rallied 3.4 percent to its best level since December 2002 in roughly twice the daily average volume after unveiling strong profit growth, as expected, and with a robust outlook and dividend increase.
FRANKFURT STOCKS EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 3995.34 points, up 3.92 or 0.10 percent.
PARIS STOCKS EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 3702.63 points, up 19.19 or 0.52 percent.
ZURICH STOCKS EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 5811.5 points, up 9.7 or 0.17 percent.
MILAN STOCKS EXCHANGE: The All Share Mibtel index closed at 20664 points, up 52 or 0.25 percent.
SYDNEY STOCKS EXCHANGE: Australian stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Wednesday as the big four domestic banks regained some favour, but major miners remained under pressure as profit-takers cashed in recent gains.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 3.8 points or 0.1 percent to close at 3332.7.
JOHANNESBURG STOCKS EXCHANGE: Some mining shares such as the world's biggest platinum producer Angloplat helped lift South Africa's bourse, balancing a dip in some gold shares as bullion prices slid.
This All-share index finishing up 0.4 percent or 37.62 points to 10,752.12, the Gold index closed down 0.46 or 10.30 points to 2241.70, while the Industrial index ended down 0.12 percent or 8.25 points to 7060.57.