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Closing stock market indices

LONDON: Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Thursday.

FRANKFURT - Demand for telecoms and technology stocks amid a flood of sector news boosted Germany's benchmark DAX 30 index to a new record high on Thursday but a weak Wall Street provoked a profit-taking fall by close.

The DAX ended down 58.44 points, or 0.76 percent, at 7,640.53 points.

PARIS - French shares ended with a gain for the second straight day as investors continued to focus on media and technology growth stocks. The benchmark CAC-40 index ended up 47.53 points or 0.79 percent at 6,078.78 points.

ZURICH - Swiss high-tech stocks surged in a reaction to Nasdaq's initial strong performance and continued a rally amid impulses from the growing Swiss technology sector. The blue-chip Swiss Market Index was down 47.9 points, or 0.69 percent at 7,043.8.

MILAN - Milan stock indices ended lower after a weak start on Wall Street wiped out early gains inspired by Tecnost and other telecoms stocks.

The All-share Mibtel ended down 0.17 percent, or 54 points, at 32,593.

AMSTERDAM - Dutch shares backtracked, finishing flat after investors got the jitters from early losses in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The AEX blue chip index closed up 1.03 or 0.16 percent at 653.55.

SYDNEY - The Australian share market closed modestly lower, saved from a sharper fall by an afternoon rally in funds management and insurance giant AMP Ltd.

The benchmark All Ordinaries Index finished down 5.6 points at 3,106.9.

JOHANNESBURG - South African information technology stocks led the charge on the Johannesburg bourse on a mixture of bullish news, while the overall market clung to slim gains as gold and platinum stocks fell.

The key All-Share index ended up 0.04 percent or 3.5 points at 8,273.5. The Gold index closed down 41.6 points at 1,244.9. Industrials gained 150.6 points or 1.60 at 9,591.9.-Reuters