European stock markets surged Friday as investors snapped up bargains, ending a roller-coaster week marked by alarm over fading global growth, a reemergence of eurozone tensions and the spreading Ebola virus.
Having already mounted a robust late recovery on Thursday following sharp losses earlier in the session, indices shot higher to claw back much of the week's losses by the end of Friday.
"European equity markets managed to hold on to early gains during the last session of the week with most major benchmark indices posting healthy gains throughout the day," said Kash Kamal from Sucden Financial.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 1.85 percent compared to Thursday's close to end the week at 6,310.29 points.
In Paris, the CAC 40 jumped 2.92 percent to 4,033.18 points, while Frankfurt's DAX index surged 3.12 percent to 8,850.27 points.
The Athens market closed up 7.21 percent after sizeable falls this week, sparked by concerns Greece could be set for a fresh financial crisis after it says it hopes to exit its IMF bailout plan early.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras Friday reiterated that Greece does not need the aid programme, but said it is open to keeping a precautionary credit line with the eurozone's bailout fund.
Investors took heart from comments from ECB board member Benoit Coeure, who said the eurozone's lender will begin buying private-sector debt instruments within days as part of its drive to beef up the bank's assets and channel money into the economy.Markets were gripped by panic earlier in the week after weak eurozone inflation data, poor demand at a Spanish bond auction and negative figures from top eurozone economy Germany added to fears the bloc could slip into recession.
Speaking on Friday, IMF chief Christine Lagarde labelled the slump in global markets "a correction and maybe at this stage an over-reaction".
"Financial markets have endured some brutal swings in price action over the past few days, as uncertainty has built up over the outlook for global growth," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at traders CMC Markets UK.
US stocks also staged a comeback, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.81 percent to 16,408.73 points in mid-afternoon trading.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.57 percent to 1,892.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.44 percent to 4,277.94.
- Rolls roiled -
Shares in carmakers gained on Friday after European auto trade data showed that sales of vehicles rose by 6.4 percent in September on a 12-month basis.
Shares in Volkswagen climbed 4.51 percent to 160.00 euros as it extended its lead in European car sales, while shares in Peugeot jumped 6.99 percent to 9.28 euros, and Renault rose 3.99 percent to 54.47 euros.
Meanwhile shares in Rolls-Royce slumped as the group issued a profit warning.Rolls tumbled 11.54 percent to close at 832 pence after the British engine-maker announced on Friday that it was slashing its earnings forecasts partly as result of Western trade sanctions against Russia, causing a share price collapse.
Rolls said underlying profit in 2015 would be flat at best compared with 2014, but could come in three percent lower, rather than
Shoemaker to the stars Jimmy Choo meanwhile stepped out Friday on the London stock market in a float valuing it at £545.6 million ($877 million, 685 million euros).
Jimmy Choo, whose celebrity fans include Kate Middleton, Michelle Obama, Nicole Kidman and Lady Gaga, began conditional dealings with shares priced at 140 pence on the London Stock Exchange, rising to 144 pence by the end of the day.
The IPO is aimed at raising cash to help the shoemaker tap further into strong Asian demand for luxury goods, particularly in China and Japan.
Shares in French digital security company Gemalto plunged 10.97 percent to 59.41 euros in what one trader explained was a reaction to news that Apple is developing a way to directly integrate SIM cards into its new iPad, allowing users to switch subscriptions by downloads instead of needing a new chip.
In foreign exchange, the euro fell to $1.2756 from $1.2809 late in New York on Thursday.
The European single currency dipped to 79.27 British pence from 79.59 pence.
The pound was worth $1.6086, up from $1.6091 on Thursday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold slipped to $1,234.25 an ounce from $1,237.75.