Europe close: Global rally helps to see markets over the line
December's roller-coaster ride ended Friday’s session on a high, as European were buoyed by an overnight rally on Wall Street.
The Stoxx 600 was up 2.02% at 336.25 by the end of the day, with all European bourses taking their lead from the US, and London, Paris, Italy, Spain and Germany were all higher.
In the City, the FTSE 100 was ahead 2.27% at 6,733.97, while the CAC 40 in Paris was 1.74% higher at 4,678.74 and the FTSE MIB in Milan advanced 1.44% to 18,324.03.
Madrid’s IBEX 35 and Frankfurt’s DAX managed to rise 1.55% and 1.71% to 8,493.70 and 10,558.96 respectively.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was holding on to gains of 0.3% by 1700 GMT.
They had endured a day of swings on Thursday, with shares lower at midday but finishing the day higher with the Dow up 1.13%, the S&P adding 0.85% and the Nasdaq 0.38%.
The Dow staged a late rally to wipe out earlier losses and close 260 points higher on Thursday, following its 1,000 point surge in the previous session, its biggest one-day points gain ever, to help bounce back from the Street’s worst-ever Christmas Eve performance earlier in the week.
Adding to the upbeat tone was news that a US government delegation will head to Beijing in January to hold trade talks with Chinese officials.
Investors had plenty on their plate to ponder - trade disputes between China and the US, higher American interest rates, the continuing government shutdown in Washington, Brexit and a slowing Chinese economy.
Volumes remained thin with traders still on holiday and a dearth of corporate news, though chipmaker AMS was well in the green, rising 10.2% to CHF 23.56.
Endesa dropped 0.36% to €19.92 as the stock went ex-dividend, while oil explorer Aker BP rose 0.87% to €22.01 after the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate approved the company's request to drill two exploration wells in the southern Norwegian North Sea.