Investing.com - European stocks rallied on Friday, as comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi announcing the possibility of further stimulus measures boosted equities.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 advanced 1.78%, France’s CAC 40 surged 2.03%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.60%.
European equities were boosted after ECB President Draghi said on Thursday that it would be necessary to “review and reconsider” the bank’s monetary policy stance at its next meeting in March, when new economic projections become available.
The ECB left the deposit rate at -0.3% after December’s cut and held the benchmark refinancing rate steady at 0.05%.
The bank expects interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, Draghi said.
Earlier Friday, research group Markit said its preliminary German manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked down to 52.1 in January from 53.2 the previous month. Germany’s services PMI fell to 55.4 from 56.0.
The French manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.0 this month from 51.4 in December, while the services PMI rose to 50.6 from 49.8.
Financial stocks were also broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) jumped 1.60% and 1.99%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) advanced 1.26% and 1.60%.
Among peripheral lenders, as Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) climbed 0.85% and 2.98% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) rallied 1.70% and 2.05%.
On the downside, Philips Kon (AS:PHG) tumbled 1.10% after the Dutch electronics giant said its $3.3 billion sale of its Lumileds division had fallen through due to objections by the U.S. government.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 jumped 1.89%, boosted by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore (L:GLEN) advanced 1.40% and Rio Tinto (L:RIO) climbed 3.69%, while Bhp Billiton (L:BLT) surged 4.33% and Antofagasta (L:ANTO) soared 8.87%.
Financial stocks were also on the upside, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) and HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) rallied 1.10% and 1.74% respectively, while Barclays (L:BARC) climbed 1.99% and Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) surged 2.13%.
Meanwhile, education company Pearson (L:PSON) Plc lost 2.59% after skyrocketing over 16% on Thursday following the announcement of a £320 million restructuring plan set to cut one tenth of its workforce.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a sharply higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 1.07% jump, S&P 500 futures a 1.16% rally, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.40% gain.