VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European shares rose in holiday-thinned trading Friday, as heartening U.S. economic data encouraged investors to go bargain hunting ahead of the Christmas weekend.
An agreement reached in Washington late Thursday on extending payroll tax cuts and news that Italy's senate has passed a confidence vote on austerity measures planned by Prime Minister Mario Monti also helped improve appetite for riskier assets.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro zone blue chippers is gaining 0.9 percent and the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is up 0.7 percent.
Around Europe, the German DAX is rising 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 is adding 1.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 is up 0.6 percent and Switzerland's SMI is moving up half a percent.
ING Groep NV is rising 1.4 percent after the Dutch financial services company reported the completion of three exchange offers in Europe and tender offers in the U.S., which the company said resulted in a post-tax capital gain of approximately 745 million euros.
Repsol YPF is rising 0.6 percent after the Spanish oil and gas producer said it signed a $1 billion deal to buy stakes in oil and gas fields in Mississippi owned by U.S. explorer SandRidge Energy.
Banks are trading mixed, with Commerzbank declining 1.2 percent and Standard Chartered easing marginally, while Credit Agricole is rising 1.6 percent and Deutsche Bank is up half a percent.
Mervyn King, vice chairman of Europe's recently created super-watchdog, the European System Risk Board, warned yesterday that the outlook for financial stability in Europe continued to worsen as Europe's debt woes started to affect the financial system and economic growth prospects.
E.ON is rising 0.8 percent after the Germany utility unveiled plans to invest EUR7 billion over the next five years into renewable energy, including three large offshore wind farms in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
Global miner BHP is down half a percent in London while rival Rio Tinto is unchanged.
Elsewhere, most Asian stocks rose in thin holiday trading Friday, as encouraging U.S. employment data and a better-than-expected reading on consumer confidence eclipsed concerns over Europe's unresolved debt crisis. The Japanese market was closed for the Emperor's Birthday national holiday.
Crude and copper are rising, while the euro is trading in a range against the dollar. Trading in U.S. index futures indicate that the Dow index could gain 33 points at the opening bell as investors await data on personal spending, durable-goods orders and new home sales.
In economic news, the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases in the United Kingdom declined in November, with households and businesses seeking less credit due to weak economic prospects, data showed. The British Bankers' Association said that the number of mortgages approved in November totaled 34,738, less than 35,196 in October. Economists expected approvals to rise to 35,400.
Separately, Italy's consumer confidence deteriorated significantly in December, data from a survey by statistical office Istat showed. The headline consumer confidence index fell to 91.6 in December from 96.1 in November. In December 2010, the reading was 103.7.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX