Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, December 23, 2011. [View all]Ghost Dog
(16,881 posts)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.
/... http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2011-12/22289553-european-shares-advance-ahead-of-holiday-break-020.htm