European stock exchanges advanced on Friday, powered by news that US consumer confidence last month, according to one survey, had shot up to its highest reading since January 2004.
The London FTSE 100 index gained 0.43 percent to close at 6,237.20, while in Paris the CAC 40 rose 1.07 percent to finish at 5,614.70. In Frankfurt the DAX added 0.86 percent to reach 6,747.17.
The Euro STOXX 50 index of leading eurozone shares rose 0.86 percent to 4,173.07.
On the currency market the dollar faltered against the euro here Friday, failing to sustain a rally following publication of the consumer confidence survey.
The single European currency in late-day trade was at US$1.2971 after US$1.2962 late on Thursday in New York.
The US currency initially firmed against the euro on news that the University of Michigan US consumer confidence indicator jumped to 98 points this month from 91.7 in December, its best reading in three years.
US stocks were mixed in late morning trading following a flurry of quarterly earnings reports as Citigroup reported slowing profits and General Electric announced improved earnings.
Telecom firm Motorola announced a moderation in profits and said it would be laying off 3,500 employees this year amid a fierce price war with rival Nokia.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09 percent at 12,556.00 at 5:05pm GMT. The tech-heavy NASDAQ composite was up 0.16 percent at 2,447.10.
"The market continues to react more to bearish news than to bullish news. Companies that disappoint in any way with their earnings report are getting hammered," said Dick Green, an analyst at Briefing.com.
In London, hotel chain Intercontinental was among the day's big winners, jumping 3.59 percent on persistent takeover rumors.
Steelmaker Corus gained 1.4 percent on Indian press comment suggesting that Tata Steel could beef up its offer for Corus in its bidding battle with CSN of Brazil.
In Paris shares in utility group Suez fell 0.89 percent after French business heavyweight said that while he had secured sufficient financial backing to make a bid for Suez he would refrain from doing so because of an unstable market environment.
In Frankfurt SAP, the world's leading maker of business software, fell 0.60 percent, dragged down by a report from IBM showing that its annual financial results were below expectations.
Elsewhere there were gains of 0.35 percent to a record 9,155.12 on the Swiss Market Index, 0.12 percent to 4,472.73 on the BEL 20 in Brussels, 0.99 percent to 42,123 on the SP/MIB in Milan, 0.93 percent to 14,397.9 on the IBEX-35 in Madrid and 0.31 percent to 507.12 on the AEX in Amsterdam.
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