Europe's main stock markets closed higher on Friday, with the London exchange shrugging off a bomb scare in the British capital to close in positive territory.
In London the FTSE 100 index gained 0.56 percent to close at 6,607.90 points, in Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.81 percent to finish at 6,054.93 points and in Frankfurt the DAX climbed 1.09 percent to end the day at 8,007.32.
British police on Friday defused a car bomb which could have caused carnage in London's entertainment district, sparking a manhunt and probe into possible international links.
"There was a jitter first thing in the morning based on the [suspect] car found, but it didn't shake the market too much," Blue Index CFDs analyst Ben Timms said.
The London market was supported by data that showed the British economy grew by a faster-than-expected annual rate of 3.0 percent during the first quarter.
The DJ Euro STOXX 50 index of leading eurozone shares gained 0.71 percent to 4,489.77 points.
US stocks were higher in morning trade on Friday as a government report showed some ebbing of inflationary pressures a day after the US Federal Reserve announced that it was keeping short-term interest rates unchanged.
Stocks gained after the US Commerce Department said core inflation, which strips out energy and food prices, over the year to May moderated to a gain of 1.9 percent, a slower pace than April's reading of 2 percent and March's reading of 2.1 percent.
London's main index was partly weighed down on Friday by a large fall to the share price of Drax Group. The power generator lost 2.02 percent to £7.2650 after publishing a trading update that failed to impress, dealers said.
In Paris, the market was supported by Cap Gemini, which extended a strong run that had begun Thursday.
Elsewhere in Europe, in Madrid the IBEX 35 rose 0.49 percent to 14,892 points, in Milan the SP/MIB gained 0.60 percent to 41,954 points, in Amsterdam the AEX added 0.40 percent to 548.21 points, while in Brussels the BEL 20 rose 0.63 percent to 4,639.40 points.
RSS