Europe close: Stocks limp higher after bruising week

Stocks across the Continent finished slightly higher as the European Commission and German officials promised to open the fiscal taps to offset the impact of the coronavirus health crisis.

Overnight, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Spain jumped by roughly 1,200 to reach 4,209, as at least 62 countries moved to restricted travel from the Mediterranean country and the government in Madrid said it would call a national emergency the next day.

Meanwhile, in Italy, in a thinly-veiled reference to the European Central Bank, President Sergio Mattarella said Rome expected solidarity, not hurdles, from the rest of the European Union.

A ban on short-selling Italian and Spanish stocks sent shares in both countries, but above all in the former, sharply higher, although gains in both had ebbed by the close.

By the end of trading, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was only 1.43% higher at 299.16, despite the historic rout suffered during the previous session.

The German Dax meanwhile was up 0.77% at 9,232.08, while Milan's FTSE Mibtel was 7.12% higher to 15,954.29.

In a positive for market sentiment, 10-year German bund yields were 20 basis points higher at -0.54%.

"The rally merely provided an opportunity for selling once again, as has been the case all week, and we look set for new lows in indices as the global coronavirus crisis becomes more intense," said IG's Chris Beauchamp.

"In reality, it is hard to see much upside for stock markets until the US has fought its way through the virus, something that may be at least a month away, and until then rallies, even 10% ones, will be sold."

Italian pharmaceutical group Recordati, which had launched a share buyback programme just the day before, topped gainers on the Stoxx 600, alongside big gains in Air France KLM and surgical mask maker Eurofins Scientific.

Crude oil futures on the other hand were only up a tad, adding 2.9% to $34.22 a barrel on the ICE, amid headlines pointing to Saudi and Moscow digging in their heels in their price war and promising to increase their respective levels of output.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin earlier, German finance minister, Olaf Scholz, said the country would open the government spending taps to offset the impact of the coronavirus crisis and that the country may need to issue new debt in order to finance the increase in spending.

Meanwhile, the European Commission committed to maximum flexibility in the interpretation of the bloc's rules governing fiscal spending and state aid so that countries can aid businesses and workers.

The European Central Bank was also in the headlines, after Bank of Spain Governor, Pablo Hernandez de Cos, said the monetary authority had room to cut interest rates if required.

For her part, ECB chief, Christine Lagarde, clarified a misstep from the press conference on Thursday, clarifying that the monetary authority was against fragmentation in euro area bond markets and "we will be there - there should be no doubt about that".