European markets open brightly

LONDON (CNNfn) - Europe's top stock markets opened higher Friday, with Frankfurt leading the way.

Germany's Xetra Dax gained 0.8 percent to 6,427.47 in opening trade, with automaker BMW rising 3.6 percent.

London's FTSE 100 index nudged up 0.1 percent to 6,192.7. Internet search system provider Autonomy soared 13 percent, after CEO Michael Lynch said in a statement the company has experienced strong revenue growth in its fourth quarter, unlike many tech sector counterparts.

In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 2 points to 5,817.99. Defense and aerospace company EADS, parent of Airbus, rose 1.8 percent after a news report that the plane maker is close to inking a $2.3 billion sale of its new A380 Superjumbo planes to U.S. delivery company Federal Express.

Elsewhere, Amsterdam's AEX index rose 0.3 percent and the SMI in Zurich dropped 0.2 percent.

The broader FTSE Eurotop 300 index, composed of a basket of Europe's largest companies, rose 0.1 percent.

U.S. markets closed lower in the latest session. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1.9 percent, pulling back only slightly after Thursday's record 14-percent gain following an unexpected Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average dropped 33.34 points to close at 10,912.41.

Wall Street was expected to open higher later Wednesday. S&P 500 index futures traded on the Globex system were up 2 points to 1350.30. Fair value, a calculation that accounts for interest costs and dividend payments, was quoted at 1,344.04 in New York. That 6.26-point difference between fair value and the futures quote pointed to a higher U.S. market open.

In the currency market, the euro briefly touched a new six-month high against the dollar at 95.95 U.S. cents, before slipping back to 95.52. The euro fetched 94.99 U.S. cents in late New York trading Thursday.

"The market has to make its mind up what the Fed rate cut means," said Jane Foley, currency analyst with Barclays Capital, referring to the wild fluctuations for the euro against the dollar following the rate move. She said one thought is that it could reverse the recent U.S. slowdown, while others believe it's a sign further declines are on the horizon.

"The market is trying to get to grips with which two schools of thought is right," Foley added.

See related sites about Europe

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.