LONDON (AFP) -- European stock markets closed mostly higher, with the London FTSE 100 at its highest level since December 2000 despite a weak start to trading on Wall Street, dealers said.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.45 percent to close at 6,346.30 points, but in Paris the CAC lost 0.08 percent to finish at 5,676.78 points and in Frankfurt the Dax edged up 0.02 percent to 6,875.70 points.

Elsewhere in Europe the Spanish, Belgian and Swiss stock exchanges hit record highs.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip shares gained 0.14 percent to 4,233.47 points.

The euro stood at 1.2967 dollars.

Wall Street shares swung lower in midday trade as oil prices moved higher and amid a probe by securities regulators into share dealing, traders said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.18 percent at 12,639.23.

The Nasdaq composite lost 0.55 percent to 2,456.94 and the broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index eased 0.19 percent to 1,444.30.

Japanese share prices closed modestly higher on Tuesday, rebounding from the previous day's sharp losses helped by generally solid recent company results.

In Frankfurt, Fresenius Medical Care topped the risers leaderboard, surging 6.21 percent to 110.08 euros on expectations that proposed changes to U.S. Medicare regulations might increase company revenues, dealers said.

MAN shares fell 0.19 percent to 83.14 euros despite the German engineering conglomerate announcing a 96-percent surge in net profit to 925 million euros (1.2 billion dollars) in 2006 from the previous year.

In Paris, Alcatel-Lucent shares jumped 0.51 percent to 9.91 euros. The telecommunications equipment maker could soon announce plans to cut its workforce by 15,000 to 20,000 jobs, Expansion magazine reported on its website Tuesday, citing industry sources.

In London, meanwhile, British energy giant BP saw its shares sink 1.20 percent to 535 pence.

BP said Tuesday that net profits dipped in 2006, reflecting a decline in production and refining margins, despite record peaks for crude oil prices in the middle of the year.

Shares in telecom giant Cable and Wireless rose 3.01 percent to 179.50 pence following an article in German newspaper Handelsblatt suggesting Deutsche Telekom could be interested in the group.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index of leading shares gained 0.36 percent to 17,406.86, after falling 1.15 percent in value the previous day.

Dealers said the gains were capped, with investors cautious ahead of more earnings reports and a meeting this weekend of top world finance chiefs where the weakness of the yen is expected to be on the agenda.

Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index closed up 0.98 percent at 20,655.20 points, led by China Mobile and other select blue chips.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Madrid stock market struck its highest level ever, gaining 0.59 percent to 14,703.2 points.

In Brussels the Bel 20 gained 0.57 percent to a record 4,530.10 points and the Swiss SMI index struck 9,266.16 points, a rise of 0.09 percent.

In Milan, the SP/Mib index fell 0.19 percent to 42,617 points while in Amsterdam the AEX gained 0.24 percent to 507.40 points.