LONDON, Aug. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Major European stock markets had different reaction on the impact of Hurricane Katrina which hits US oil supplies, with London ending higher, Paris and Frankfurt slipping down on Tuesday.

    In London, oil and insurance stocks helped to push the London market higher, with the FTSE 100 ending the day up 27.7 points at 5,255.8.

    Oil giant BP climbed 2 percent as oil prices rose and the firm said its huge one billion dollars Thunder Horse platform appeared to have escaped damage from Hurricane Katrina.

    Insurance stocks rose after Old Mutual said it had held talks with Swedish firm Skandia about a possible takeover.

    Insurers Aviva, Legal & General and Friends Provident all endedhigher.

    Rentokil Initial was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 after Raphoe, a company led by UK businessman Gerry Robinson, said it was still working on a possible takeover offer for the firm.

    Hilton - which owns the Ladbrokes betting chain - was another notable climber, up 2.3 percent after a broker upgrading.

    In Paris, French shares lost ground as investors faced up to a fresh oil price spike and clearer indications of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

    With oil prices touching new highs of 70.85 dollars a barrel, the CAC-40 index traded 4.61 points lower at 4356.66.

    AGF and Axa rose after global reinsurer Munich Re said Katrina-related claims may not rise above 15 billion dollars.

    Credit Agricole slipped 1.3 percent to 21.41 euros after it said it had issued almost 500 million dollars of new shares to staff.

    In Frankfurt, German shares lost early gains to close down as concerns over the impact of Hurricane Katrina on US oil supplies, with the DAX index slipping 20.52 points to 4791.72.

    Exporters were hit by the oil spike with Volkswagen slipping 1.3 percent to 42.33 euros, while utility E.on shed 1.2 percent.

    Chipmaker Infineon sacrificed early gains, falling 1.4 percent to 7.61, despite unveiling a contract with Microsoft.

    In the currency market, the US dollar gained ground over the euro ending the session at 1.2197 to a euro from 1.2230, and the dollar also won over the Japanese yen closing at one dollar to 111.44 yen from 110.60.

    The greenback also rose over the British pound ending at 1.7836to a pound from 1.7961. Enditem