LONDON, May 18:Europe's main stock markets rose on Friday on speculation about possible private equity takeovers and further consolidation across a number of sectors, dealers said.

At the halfway stage, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares climbed 0.62 per cent to 6,619.90 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 rose 0.79 per cent to 7,558.49 points and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.81 per cent to 6,075.57.

The euro stood at $1.3475.

US shares posted a lackluster showing on Thursday as Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke voiced hope that America's economy would not be swamped by a lingering housing slump.

The Fed chief acknowledged the housing market remained in a downturn during the first months of the year, but said he did not expect the nation's housing slowdown to spill over too much to the wider economy.

Japanese share prices ended the week on a downbeat note, falling for a second day as investors awaited a slew of banking results for fresh leads, dealers said.

British confectionery and soft drink giant Cadbury Schweppes gained 2.08 per cent to 687.5 pence in London on talk of a possible private-equity bid for its US beverage arm worth 8.0 billion pounds (11.7bn euros, 15.8 billion dollars), dealers said.—AFP