European stocks firm at open, London up 0.49pc

LONDON: Europe's main stock markets firmed at the start of trading on Friday in the wake of a eurozone debt deal, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index up 0.49 percent to 5,928.64 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 grew 0.25 percent to 7,308.48 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 0.95 percent to 3,855.43.

Share prices had already closed sharply higher on Thursday as news of the eurozone debt deal offered the hope of finally taming a crisis which has roiled markets for months.

Eurozone leaders and private creditors agreed to give Greece a new 159-billion-euro bailout, risking a potential default to prevent the debt crisis from spreading worldwide.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011