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~~~~~((#))016005000m-Stocks & Shares (World)

Closing stock market indices outside US

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

EUROPE: European shares ended lower for the fourth straight session, led down by volatile insurers like Munich Re, after poor US data gave investors more reason to fret over the Iraq war's impact on a frail global economy.

Strategists said they were also bracing for weak corporate news, with the first-quarter reporting season due to kick off from mid-April and company pre-announcements expected in the coming days.

"Things aren't looking good not just because the war could drag on but also because the fundamentals both at a micro and macro level are far from encouraging," said Cesar Martinez, head of international equity at Spanish fund manager GesMadrid.

In Franfurt the DAX closed at 2423.87.

In Paris the CAC-40 closed at 2618.46.

In Zurich the Swiss market index closed at 4085.6.

In Milan the Mibtel closed at 16085.

SYDNEY: Stocks fell amid heavy trading, led lower by negative signals from Wall Street futures as a longer-than-expected war unfolds in Iraq.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index declined 12.5 points or 0.43 percent to 2,885.2.

JOHANNESBURG: An almost nine percent rise in gold shares led by Gold Fields offered some relief to the battered South African bourse, where most shares fell in tandem with their big Western counterparts.

The All-share index closed down 0.7 percent or 55.98 points to 7,679.88, the Industrial index closed down 2.35 percent or 111.19 points to 4619.48.-Reuters