London (AFP) - Major European stock markets climbed higher Thursday on news of substantial economic stimulus to combat coronavirus fallout, dealers said.
In Paris, the CAC-40 index added 0.8 percent as the French government prepared to launch a 100-billion-euro ($120-billion) spending plan to bolster the nation's coronavirus-hit economy.
Frankfurt gained 0.8 percent and London was up by 0.4 percent in afternoon trading.
"Firstly, we are seeing a bit of a catchup from the afternoon rally on Wall Street as it surged to fresh records," Oanda analyst Craig Erlam told AFP.
"On top of that, a 100-billion-euro stimulus package from France, and the promise of more deficit spending from Germany next year, is a huge statement of intent.
"Combined with the (eurozone) recovery package, it's clear the bloc is not going down without a fight."
In New York, the Dow Jones index was essentially unchanged in early exchanges, however.
Central bank support
Equities continue to garner support from vast amounts of central bank stimulus that also seeks to underpin a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The European Central Bank, seeking to breathe life into the bloc's economy, is pumping in 1.35 trillion euros and has cut interest rates to negative levels to keep borrowing costs low and boost demand.
"Market participants are still very comfortable with the idea that central banks around the globe are still unleashing their support," added AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam.
"As long as the current stock rally has support from central banks, things are likely to remain rosy."
Asian equities, however, traded mixed despite another blow-out session on Wall Street, with new vaccine hopes and central bank largesse offset by a well-below-forecast US jobs reading and tensions between Washington and Beijing.
US officials have called on states to prepare to distribute a possible vaccine by November 1 -- two days before the presidential election.
Payrolls firm ADP said the US added 428,000 new jobs in August -- a third of what was expected -- boding ill ahead of the release of Friday's much-anticipated government data, which serves as a guide to the state of the world's top economy.
Traders were keeping tabs on Capitol Hill, hoping US lawmakers will at some point reach an agreement on a new stimulus package, though expectations are not high.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there were still big differences with Republicans following a phone call with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 5,964.28 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.8 percent at 13,345.47
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 5,106.22
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.0 percent at 3,371.71
New York - Dow: FLAT at 29,096.33
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.9 percent at 23,465.53 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.5 percent at 25,007.60 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,384.98 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1840 from $1.1855 at 2100 GMT on Wednesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 106.34 yen from 106.18 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3279 from $1.3350
Euro/pound: UP at 89.14 pence from 88.80 pence
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.1 percent at $43.49 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.2 percent at $40.58
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