LONDON, Sept 15: European stock markets rose modestly on Friday ahead of keenly-awaited US inflation data, dealers said. London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares edged up 0.01 per cent to 5,877.70 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 won 0.24 per cent to 5,921.67 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index gained 0.26 per cent to 5,137.64.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares advanced 0.19 per cent to 3,803.64 points.

The euro stood at 1.2708 dollars.

Markets were awaiting the release later Friday of US consumer price data that was expected to provide clues on the outlook for interest rates in the United States, the world's biggest economy.

Wall Street's main indices finished mixed Thursday as the market digested four days of gains while awaiting the report on inflation.

Japanese share prices closed lower Friday after the government revised down an index of leading economic indicators and as investors locked in recent profits ahead of a long holiday weekend in Japan, dealers said.

In London, strength in banking stocks helped to offset a weak mining and oil sector.

Britain-based emerging markets bank Standard Chartered jumped 1.58 per cent to 1,346 pence after Swiss broker UBS upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'neutral' owing to what it described as strength in emerging economies and solid organic growth.

Britain's fourth biggest bank HBOS meanwhile gained 1.23 per cent to 1,026 pence.

On the downside, Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto dropped 1.82 per cent to 2,475 pence as commodity prices continued to slide. Oil giant BP lost 0.86 per cent to 579.5 pence owing to weak crude prices and a report in the Financial Times that said some of the group's major shareholders are pressing for assurances that there would be no repeat of recent safety failures by BP at energy installations in the United States.

In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.14 per cent to 11,527.39 points, a day after closing at its best level since May 10.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite edged up 0.05 per cent to 2,228.73 points, while the broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index shed 0.14 per cent to 1,316.28.

On Friday in Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed down 0.47 per cent at 15,866.93 points.

Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index ended 0.32 per cent higher at 17,237.65 points, as aviation stocks attracted strong interest in late trade on the prospect of lower fuel prices, dealers said.—AFP