European shares rally after surprise BoJ easing

PARIS: European shares surged in early trade on Friday, tracking sharp gains in Tokyo after the Bank of Japan stunned global financial markets by easing policy further.

At 0803 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.3 percent at 1,344.18 points, extending its sharp two-week rally.

The Bank of Japan will increase the pace at which it expands base money to about 80 trillion yen per year, up from a previous target of 60-70 trillion yen. It also decided to increase its purchases of government debt by about 30 trillion yen and extend the average duration of JGB holdings to around 10 years, and decided to triple its purchases of exchange-traded funds and Japan real estate investment trusts.