LONDON: Europe's main stock markets diverged on Friday, with London cheered by polls showing Scotland may stay in Britain after next week's referendum and despite jitters over concerns about Russian sanctions against the EU.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index inched up 0.11 percent compared with Thursday's close to 6,806.96 points.
In Paris, the CAC 40 closed largely flat at 4,441.70 points, while Frankfurt's DAX index dipped 0.41 percent to 9,651.13 points.
European shares had fallen on Thursday, weighed down by concerns over the outcome of the Scottish vote on September 18 and the impact of fresh EU sanctions against Russia, traders said.
The harsher measures sent the Russian ruble to a new low on Friday of 37.72 to the dollar as Moscow accused the West of undermining the fragile truce in Ukraine.
"European shares are trading lower after disappointing Chinese lending data and talk that new counter-sanctions imposed by Russia on the EU might be targeting automobile and clothes imports," said Markus Huber, a senior analyst at Peregrine & Black.
In Britain on Friday, campaigners for and against Scotland's independence focused their efforts on Glasgow as separatist leader Alex Salmond said he was confident of victory despite a new poll showing the pro-UK campaign recovering lost ground.
As Salmond set out on a flying tour round Scotland's cities, pollsters warned the tide might be turning against him ahead of Thursday's knife-edge vote.
The new survey was published after a string of major banks issued market advisories on their contingency plans in the event of independence, suggesting they may move their headquarters to England.
Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland rose 1.07 percent to 349.70 pence, although it was outperformed by British rival Barclays, which jumped 2.0 percent to 230.00 pence after announcing the appointment of a new chairman.
"The mere fact that its moved in favour of staying a part of the United Kingdom has brought some calm back to the markets," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari trading group.
In foreign exchange trading, the pound fell to $1.6239 from $1.6255 late in New York on Thursday, continuing its fightback from 10-month lows reached earlier this week.
The euro rose to 79.78 pence versus 79.58 pence on Thursday.
Sterling rallies:
Wall Street stocks opened lower on Friday following a solid retail sales report and ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting and referendum on Scottish independence.
In mid-afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.35 percent to 16,989.56 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.43 percent to 1,988.92 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.40 percent to 4,573.29 points.
The Commerce Department reported that US retail sales grew 0.6 percent in August, picking up from growth of 0.3 percent in July.
"The US recovery has been very strong over the last six months and if it continues at this pace, the Fed will have to consider bringing forward its first rate hike," said Erlam.
In Paris, shares in EDF fell by 2.15 percent to 25.270 euros after the State Council ruled against the company's request that a freeze on electricity prices be lifted.
The European single currency eased to $1.2955 from $1.2925 on Thursday. The euro had hit 14-month lows against the US currency this week in the wake of the European Central Bank's recent decision to cut the eurozone's key interest rate.
Industrial output in the eurozone rose one percent in July, official data showed on Friday, offering a rare glimmer of positive news to a single-currency economy struggling with stagnating growth and low inflation.
Tokyo stocks gained 0.25 percent to close at a fresh eight-month high on Friday as the yen lost more ground against the dollar.
On the London Bullion Market, gold hit a fresh seven-month trough at $1,228.13 an ounce Friday hit by a strengthening dollar. It later recovered to $1,231.50, down from $1,241.25 late on Thursday.
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