Closing stock market indices

Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Wednesday.
EUROPE STOCK EXCHANGE: European shares rebounded as investment bank stocks such as UBS benefited from record profits by Lehman Brothers, but a 2 percent surge in oil prices kept a leash on sentiment. Vodafone rose 1.7 percent as Morgan Stanley predicted more growth and increased market share for the cell phone giant.
This offset weak construction stocks after Bouygues warned that the buoyant French housing market would start running out of steam in 2006/2007 after a six-year rally. The pan-European FTSEurofirst index of 300 blue chips rose 0.3 percent to end at 1,205.3 points.
PARIS STOCK EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 4,470.43 points, up 17.02 or 0.38 percent.
ZURICH STOCK EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 6,731.58 points, up 35.2 or 0.53 percent.
FRANKFURT STOCK EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 4,911.17 points, up 9.29 or 0.19 percent.
MILAN STOCK EXCHANGE: The All Share Mibtel index closed at 26,397 points, up 189 or 0.72 percent.
SYDNEY STOCK EXCHANGE: The Australian and New Zealand share markets set new closing peaks, with the Australian market lifted by banks and building products makers like Rinker. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index added 23.1 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 4,518.3.
JOHANNESBURG STOCK EXCHANGE: Gold miners lifted stocks as the yellow metal edged higher in Europe on the back of a weaker dollar. The All-share index closed at 15,984.66 points, up 44.48 or 0.28 percent. The All Gold index closed at 1,799.28 points, up 44.11 or 2.51 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 11,924.62 points, up 66.8 or 0.56 percent.