Investing.com - European stocks rallied on Friday, boosted by growing hopes for a deal between Greece and its creditors before the end of the weekend.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 surged 2.60%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 2.57%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rallied 2.27%.
Greece offered to make painful spending cuts and hike taxes late Thursday, in a last-ditch request to win one more bailout from Europe before the country descends into bankruptcy.
Athens was seeking at least €50 billion over the next three years. In exchange, the government presented a number of austerity measures that were said to total between €12 billion and €13 billion - significantly more than Greece’s previous commitments.
The move brought Greece one step closer to a deal with its European creditors, who plan to make a final decision Sunday about whether to grant the country additional emergency loans.
In the meantime, the Greek government extended bank closures and the €60 daily limit on cash machine withdrawals until Monday.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) surged 3.38% and 3.51%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) advanced 3.39% and 2.93%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) soared 3.74% and 3.78% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) rallied 2.52% and 2.99%.
In earnings news, DnB ASA (OSLO:DNB), Norway’s biggest lender, saw shares climb 3.30% after it reported second-quarter profit that exceeded analyst estimates and said impairment losses will be lower than expected.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 jumped 0.99%, boosted by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) rallied 2.42% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) surged 2.62%, while rivals Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) soared 2.70% and 3.52% respectively.
Intercontinental Hotels Group (LONDON:IHG) added to gains, with shares up 3.82%, after saying it has agreed to sell the Intercontinental Hong Kong to a consortium of buyers for $938 million.
Financial stocks were also on the upside, as Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) gained 0.42% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) climbed 0.88%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) jumped 1.34% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) rallied 1.54%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a sharply higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 1% jump, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.12% rally, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.05% climb.