Major European stock markets end higher as Rita fears abate

The major European stock markets closed higher on Friday as concerns over the impact of Hurricane Rita ease.

In London, the Footsie index shrugged off jitters about Hurricane Rita to close back above the 5,400 level as fears about the storm's impact began to ease.

The FTSE 100 index closed the day 27.9 points higher at 5,413.6.

Enterprise Inns rose 2 percent after it issued an upbeat statement firm, saying annual profits should met expectations.

Old Mutual shares dipped 2.3 percent after the South African insurer's bid for Swedish rival Skandia was rejected by its suitor 's board.

In Paris, French shares closed higher, after suffering a nervous day, with the benchmark CAC-40 index 28.21 points higher at 4,476.36.

Peugeot was the major riser, up 2.7 percent, at 53.50 euros, after Merrill Lynch upgraded its shares from "neutral" to "buy".

Shares in Belgian-French bank Dexia fell 0.5 percent after it rejected the advances of Belgian-Dutch rival Fortis.

In Frankfurt, German shares closed higher thanks to easing concerns about the potential impact of Hurricane Rita on oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, with the Frankfurt's DAX index ending 33.57 points, or 0.69 percent, higher at 4,882.58.

Commerzbank was one of the day's top winners, clawing back Thursday losses, to close 2.2 percent higher at 22.02 euros.

Carmaker Volkswagen shook off an early sell-off, triggered by news of a downgrading from investment back CSFB, to close 2.8 percent higher at 51.65 euros.

In the currency market, the US dollar rose over the euro ending at 1.2065 against the euro from 1.2154, and the dollar also closed higher over the Japanese yen, closing at one dollar against 112.27 yen from previously 111.56.

The dollar also grew over the British pound, closing the week's transaction at 1.7773 from 1.7916.

Source: Xinhua