Closing stock market indices

Major stock markets outside the United States ended on Tuesday.
EUROPE STOCKS EXCHANGE: European stocks closed lower, dropping for a fourth straight session amid worries over interest rates while concerns over trouble at two US hedge funds spread to the European financial sector.
Among the laggards, British military contractor BAE tumbled nearly 8 percent after the US justice department launched an anti-corruption probe. "Rising rates are clearly the major driver for this corrective phase," said Philippe Gijsels, senior equity strategist at Fortis Bank in Brussels. "Coupled with that, you have all the worries in the US housing and subprime mortgage sectors," he said. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.7 percent at 1,587.00 points. The benchmark index, still up about 7 percent so far this year, has lost 2 percent over the past four sessions.
FRANKFURT STOCKS EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 7,860.52 points, down 70.09 or 0.88 percent.
PARIS STOCKS EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 5,953.36 points, down 49.49 or 0.82 percent.
ZURICH STOCKS EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 9,073.33 points, down 67.9 or 0.74 percent.
MILAN STOCKS EXCHANGE: The All Share Mibtel index closed at 32,608 points, down 337 or 1.02 percent.
SYDNEY STOCKS EXCHANGE: Shares fell 0.33 percent as growing worries about the US subprime mortgage market weighed down on US-exposed firms such as Macquarie Bank and Westfield Group. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 21.2 points to close at 6,308.6.
JOHANNESBURG STOCKS EXCHANGE: Tumbling platinum miners Anglo Platinum and Impala Platinum helped pushed the blue chip Top-40 index lower as precious metals prices fell. The All-share index closed at 28,746.43 points, down 168.01 or 0.58 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,537.99 points, down 47.5 or 1.84 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 19,570.21 points, down 46.57 or 0.24 percent.