LONDON: European stock markets rallied on Friday, building on the previous session's gains arising from expectations of further economic stimulus for the eurozone.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index won 1.0 percent to stand at 6,439.79 around midday in the capital.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 surged 1.95 percent to 10,697.05 points and the Paris CAC 40 jumped 1.69 percent to 4,883.41 compared with Thursday's close.
"European shares got another healthy pump higher from investors on Friday, with major European averages all up... having already surged over two percent the previous day," said Jasper Lawler, analyst at trading group CMC Markets.
"The ECB money train is about to leave the station and the markets are jumping on board."
The European Central Bank's hint Thursday at fresh stimulus measures for the stuttering eurozone economy meanwhile sent Asia stock markets and emerging currencies surging Friday.
The euro came under further selling pressure, with the prospect of more euros flooding the market weighing on the single currency.
In foreign exchange on Friday, the euro hit a two-month low at $1.1072 but later recovered.
"The euro has weakened sharply following yesterday's ECB monetary policy meeting," said Lee Hardman, currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
"The sharp weakening of the euro has been driven by the strong signal from the ECB that it will soon ease monetary policy further which is likely to be delivered as early as in December."
Helping the euro to recover in later trading Friday was a key business survey showing that eurozone economic activity accelerated in October, in one of the best performances in four years which included a notable improvement in employment.
Data monitoring company Markit said its closely watched composite Purchasing Managers Index rose to 54 points compared with 53.6 points in September, well above the 50-point boom-or-bust line.
Around midday in London, the euro stood at $1.1134, up from $1.1111 late on Thursday in New York.
The recent gains for equities meanwhile come after global markets suffered their worst quarter in four years during July-September, owing to worries about the slowing Chinese economy.
In shares price movement Friday, Sweden's Volvo climbed 2.6 percent after the world's second-biggest truckmaker unveiled a doubling of third quarter net profits.
On the downside, TalkTalk shares plunged 6.89 percent to 250 pence after the telephone and broadband provider was hit by a "significant and sustained" cyberattack according to the company.
TalkTalk said information including customer names, addresses and bank details could have been compromised, and that it had informed London's Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, a Latvian bank salvaged from the wreckage of one notorious for irregularities said it would make a landmark debut on the London Stock Exchange.
The move by Citadele bank comes just two days after the OECD said Latvia's eurozone banking sector needed reforms tackling money laundering.
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