Financial bookmakers see European shares rising

LONDON Oct 31 (Reuters) - Financial bookmakers expect to see major European indexes rise by as much as 0.6 to 1.5 percent on Friday on optimism that recent interest rate cuts by central banks will ease the financial crisis.

London-based spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 4 to 26 points higher, or as much as 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI to open 25 to 75 points up, or as much as 1.5 percent, and France's CAC-40 .FCHI to open 11 to 30 points up, or as much as 0.9 percent.

Major U.S. stocks indexes rose by 2.1 to 2.6 percent on Thursday, while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 registered a 0.7 percent gain. But on Friday, Japan's Nikkei average .N225 fell 5 percent despite a rate cut by the Bank of Japan. (Reporting by Atul Prakash)