London's benchmark FTSE 100 index added 0.3 percent to 7,459.17 points compared with the close on Thursday.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX edged up 0.2 percent to 12,612.30 points and the Paris CAC 40 also rose 0.2 percent to 5,299.40.

"US bourses found their 'mojo' last night, recovering some of their recent losses. Asian investors have also largely progressed overnight, but sentiment still retains a cautious bias in response to recent political turbulence," said Mike van Dulken of Accendo Markets.

Global markets have been rocked this week by claims that US President Donald Trump pressed his former FBI chief James Comey to drop a probe into ex-national security advisor Michael Flynn's links to Moscow.

That came a day after it was reported Trump had divulged classified information to Russia's foreign minister, fanning further allegations about his own ties to the country's leaders.