The US president's announcement on Iran on Tuesday had triggered a surge in oil prices unseen in over three years.

By Friday, however, oil prices were flat once more, with analysts seeing the risk of escalation in the Middle East tinderbox easing.

Traders meanwhile welcomed below-forecast US inflation data that dented expectations for a sharp lift in US interest rates, and were buoyed by the prospect of cheaper borrowing after data showed consumer prices edged up only slightly in April.

"Global equity markets have attempted to trade cautiously higher at the end of the week, as a combination of soft US inflation figures, stronger commodity prices and slightly easing geopolitical tensions seems to have had a small impact on risk sentiment," wrote Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM.

US stocks were slightly higher at open, with analysts at Charles Schwab saying the markets were "tacking onto a solid weekly gain that has been bolstered by recent cooler-than-expected inflation data".

As the week drew to a close Europe's main stock markets ran out of steam in an "uninspired" performance amid a dearth of economic data, dealers said.

London stocks rose modestly, while France and Germany declined somewhat.

"European equity markets are mixed... as a lack of macroeconomic news has left traders uninspired," said CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden.

"Stocks in Europe have had a good run recently, and this could just be a case of the bulls taking a breather."

- Oil rally falters -

This week's oil price rally faltered on Friday after recent surges that followed Trump's Iran decision and data showing improving US demand.

However, both main contracts remain close to peaks not seen since November 2014 and there is still talk of further rises to around $80 a barrel.

An exchange of rockets between Israel and Iran was also keeping traders wary of a flare-up in the volatile crude-producing Middle East region, with the Syria crisis still raging.

- Key figures around 1330 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 24,783.82 points

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,711.51

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.3 percent at 12,985.86

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,532.35

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,128.23

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 22,758.48 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.0 percent at 31,122.06 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,163.26 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1948 from $1.1915 at 2100 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3578 from $1.3519

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.27 yen from 109.40 yen

Oil - Brent North Sea: Down 11 cents at $77.38 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 4 cents at $71.40

burs-ser/cw