LONDON, Sept 21: Europe’s main stock markets rose on Friday, driven higher by the automaking sector despite overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.

This week, investor sentiment was bolstered by a deep US interest rate cut, which helped offset concerns over a global credit squeeze that has plagued British bank Northern Rock.

Lower borrowing costs in the United States, the world’s biggest economy, are regarded as beneficial to companies because they cut loan repayments and boost consumers’ disposable incomes.

In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.44 per cent to 6,457.40 points near the half-way stage.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 added 0.23 per cent to 7,752.66 and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.18 per cent to 5,698.73 points.The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index gained 0.15 per cent to 4,372.73 points.

The euro stood at 1.4074 dollars after hitting a record high 1.4120 dollars as the US unit was pressured by expectations of more US rate cuts, dealers said.

In Paris, Renault shares surged 2.47 per cent to 99.19 euros and Peugeot added 0.59 per cent to 56.55 euros.

In Frankfurt, BMW saw its share price shoot 1.92 per cent higher to 42.96 euros, and peer DaimlerChrysler won 1.59 per cent to 67.85 euros.

Despite Friday’s slender gains, the lender’s share price has fallen by about 70 per cent in value since last Thursday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.46 per cent to 2,654.29 and the broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index fell 0.67 per cent to 1,518.75.

The market action came after the strong gains following the Fed’s aggressive half-point cut in its key federal funds rate to 4.75 per cent on Tuesday.—AFP