Europe close: Stocks end modestly higher
Stocks across the Continent only managed a slight gain in a roller-coaster session that saw an initial sharp bounce give way to losses in the middle of the session
Helping sentiment, overnight, Brussels had approved roughly €55bn in support measures from various European institutions to finance to help offset the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, granted all countries permission to fully use their so-called 'automatic stabilisers'.
That was on top of other temporary stimulus measures.
Commenting on a similar move by authorities in the UK, IG's Chris Beauchamp said: "The government response from around the globe appears to be ramping up once again, as the chancellor prepares to unveil more measures to help support businesses.
"Whatever is announced, the measures will be expensive, but if they can form a credible package, and one co-ordinated with other governments, then markets may try to find a positive, although it may take time."
Against that backdrop, the benchmark Stoxx 600 added 2.26% to 291.07, alongside a 2.25% rise for the German Dax to 8,939.10, while the Cac-40 added 2.84% to 3,991.78.
Investors were also keeping an eye on the government bond market, where longer-term yields were in some cases seeing large increases as authorities announced their stimulus plans.
Italian and Spanish 10-year bond yields both jumped by 19 basis points to 2.36% and 1.03%, respectively.
French 10-year bond yields on the other hand only rose by 6 basis points to 0.23%.
Earlier, the Elysee had unveiled its own €45bn stimulus programme, together with €300bn in loan guarantees.
Meanwhile, in Germany, as feared, the ZEW institute's economic confidence index for Germany sank by 58.2 points in March to hit -49.5 (consensus: -25.0).