LONDON, March 30:Europe's main stock markets mostly fell on Friday as oil prices remained high and amid fresh takeover announcements, dealers said. London's FTSE 100 slid by 0.30 per cent to 6,305.40 points and in Paris the CAC 40 slipped 0.20 per cent to 5,620.05 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 index of leading shares edged up 0.08 per cent to 6,902.87 points, helped by a jump to the share price of Commerzbank.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip shares dropped 0.30 per cent to 4,167.58 points, while the euro stood at $1.3311.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, rose to fresh 2007 highs above 66 dollars a barrel on Friday as tensions over Iran's detention of British military personnel increased.

In London, the share price of life insurer Resolution led the blue-chip casualties, tumbling 5.10 per cent to 614.5 pence after the group said talks with various parties over its possible sale had been terminated.

Alliance Boots managed a climb of 0.63 per cent to 1,033.5 pence after Europe's biggest pharmacy chain received an increased offer from US investment group KKR worth 10.06 billion pounds (14.72 billion euros, 19.61 billion dollars) in cash.

KKR, which is tabling a joint bid with Alliance Boots' executive deputy chairman Stefano Pessina, has offered 1,040 pence per share.

Alliance Boots on March 12 snubbed an offer worth 1,000 pence per share.

British Airways meanwhile slumped 2.21 per cent received a request for information from US private equity firm Texas Pacific Group which is considering a takeover bid.

Iberia signalled last week it was ready to look at a merger, with consolidation of the industry expected to gather pace after the EU-US deal to open up transatlantic air travel.

The TPG bid would value Iberia at 3.60 euros a share.

Iberia was the biggest faller on Madrid's IBEX 35 index early Friday, dropping 1.75 per cent to 3.93 euros. The IBEX 35 index declined 0.34 per cent to 14,556.30 points.

Elswhere Man Group, the world's biggest listed hedge fund, lost 1.15 per cent to 558.5 pence after an expected announcement to demerge its brokerage unit, Man Financial, and list it on the New York Stock Exchange.

London-listed Man Group also forecast in-line annual profits.

In Frankfurt, Commerzbank jumped 3.52 per cent to 33.56 euros, a day after announcing it was examining all strategic options for its French asset management unit CCR.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite rose a fractional 0.03 per cent at 2,417.88 points and the broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 increased 0.37 per cent to finish at 1,422.53.

Ahead of the opening, the government released data showing the US economy grew at a 2.5 per cent pace in the fourth quarter, a bit faster than earlier estimates of 2.2 per cent growth..—AFP