ROME: European equities surged Friday, and locked in weekly gains, on growing optimism that Greece’s new reform proposals will lead to a bailout deal for the debt-burdened country.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +2.03% leapt 2% to close at 388.80, building on a rise of 2.2% from Thursday. For the week, the pan-European benchmark jumped 1.4%.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 DAX, +2.90% rose 2.9% to 11,315.63, and in Paris, the CAC 40 PX1, +3.07% jumped 3.1% to 4,903.07.
The euro EURUSD, +1.0691% hit an intraday high at $1.1218, according to FactSet data, on the Greek developments. At the time of the European close, the shared currency fetched $1.1148, up from $1.1039 late Thursday in New York.
The big swings in Europe’s financial markets came after Greece late Thursday submitted a 13-page bailout proposal to its eurozone creditors as well as to the Greek Parliament. Greece’s new proposal appears to have moved closer to the measures demanded by the country’s creditors in order for the country to receive much-needed rescue funding.
Greek debt crisis: Latest news
Greece’s lenders will likely make a first assessment on the reform program Friday, before the Eurogroup of finance ministers meet on Saturday for an emergency meeting. If the Eurogroup reaches a debt deal with Greece, the scheduled summit of EU leaders on Sunday will be called off.
