Closing stock market indices

Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Thursday.
EUROPE STOCKS EXCHANGE: European shares ended at three-week highs in holiday-thinned volumes as oil prices holding above $50 a barrel lifted oil heavyweights and miners such as BHP Billiton rose on the back of a broker upgrade.
Technology issues also were buoyant, with chipmaker Infineon up 4 percent after South Korea's Hynix gave an upbeat outlook for the second half of the year. Other movers included Philips, up 1.2 percent after saying it would book a gain of up to 750 million euros ($971.9 million) from the sale of a stake in NAVTEQ, while sales growth concerns skimmed 6.6 percent off Imperial Chemical Industries.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips ended 0.55 percent higher at 1,080.9 points - its best close since April 15.
FRANKFURT STOCKS EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 4,299.51 points, up 35.16 or 0.82 percent.
PARIS STOCKS EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 4,019.35 points, up 31.72 or 0.80 percent.
ZURICH STOCKS EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 6,001.85 points, up 68.11 or 1.15 percent.
MILAN STOCKS EXCHANGE: The All Share Mibtel index closed at 23,977 points, up 112 or 0.47 percent.
SYDNEY STOCKS EXCHANGE: The market closed up 0.23 percent, clawing its back way into positive territory by the close, although sentiment was still negative as investors focused on company profit downgrades.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index finished up 9.0 points at 3,956.1.
JOHANNESBURG STOCKS EXCHANGE: Stocks charged higher as banks and industrials continued their recovery from oversold positions, but the buoyant rand hurt mining stocks, traders said. The All-share index closed at 12,809.73 points, up 138.66 or 1.09 percent.
The All Gold index closed at 1,348.84 points, down 8.69 or 0.64 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 9,522.38 points, up 95.59 or 1.01 percent.
SEOUL STOCKS EXCHANGE: South Korea's stock market is closed Thursday for a public holiday. Trading will resume Friday.