BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks were moving higher on Friday as massive relief packages announced by global central banks and governments helped to ease fears of a global recession.
Meanwhile, French health authorities reported 108 new deaths from coronavirus on Thursday, taking the total to 372.
China reported no new domestic coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day, but there were 39 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland, all of which were imported.
Globally, there are currently 245,651 confirmed cases and 10,050 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 153 points, or 3.98 percent, at 4,008 after rising 2.7 percent on Thursday.
Bank stocks surged from their lowest in three decades after the Bank of England joined its European peers in suspending stress tests for 2020.
BNP Paribas rose about 1 percent, Credit Agricole soared 5.6 percent and Societe Generale advanced 4.7 percent.
Software designer Esker rose slightly after publishing its annual results.
Semiconductor materials maker Soitec gained 7.6 percent. The company said that OCEANE 2023 holders have approved partial assets contribution for its wholly-owned subsidiary Soitec Newco 1.
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