ROME: European stocks climbed, scored the biggest six-day gain since December 2011, while ECB President Mario Draghi declared a plan to buy government bonds.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.7 percent to 364.05 at the close of trading, the highest level since December 2007. The gauge extended gains after Draghi’s announcement and later briefly erased them. The European Central Bank in March will start an asset-purchase plan including private and public securities worth around 1.1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion). “People were hoping for more and they got more,” said Stephen Macklow-Smith, head of European equity strategy at JPMorgan Asset Management in London. “This will push investors into higher-yielding assets. Draghi was careful not to exclude the option of extending the program if inflation remains below target. We should have more faith in the euro zone recovery.”
