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Strong gains for European shares Strong gains for European shares
(20 minutes later)
European shares opened higher on Friday at the end of an extraordinary week of trading, taking heart from the gains on Wall Street on Thursday.European shares opened higher on Friday at the end of an extraordinary week of trading, taking heart from the gains on Wall Street on Thursday.
In early trading the FTSE 100 rose 4.3%, the Dax in Frankfurt was up 4% and the Cac 40 in Paris was up 4.6%. In early trading the FTSE 100 rose 3.9%, the Dax in Frankfurt was up 2.8% and the Cac 40 in Paris was up 4.2%.
It followed gains of 4.7% in New York and 2.8% on Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index.It followed gains of 4.7% in New York and 2.8% on Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index.
The mood was helped by news from IBM, which said it expects to meet long-term profit forecasts and Google, which reported better-than-expected results.The mood was helped by news from IBM, which said it expects to meet long-term profit forecasts and Google, which reported better-than-expected results.
But concerns remain about the state of the global economy. Rallies and slumps
Oil prices rose above $72 a barrel from a 14-month low as investors bet that fears that demand for energy would be hit by the global downturn were overstated. Stock markets have been rallying and slumping on alternate days as investors try to decide how severe the global economic downturn will be.
"This is the most volatile week we've seen," said Thierry Lacraz, strategist at Swiss bank Pictet in Geneva.
"The sole intelligent thing is to remain on the sidelines and not make any huge bets."
Oil prices rose above $72 a barrel from a 14-month low on expectations that Opec would decide to cut production at its upcoming meeting.
Key indexes in South Korea and Australia fell back slightly, though markets were relatively stable in comparison with recent gyrations.Key indexes in South Korea and Australia fell back slightly, though markets were relatively stable in comparison with recent gyrations.
The Nikkei index climbed 235.37 points to end at 8,693.8, having lost more than 11% on Thursday.The Nikkei index climbed 235.37 points to end at 8,693.8, having lost more than 11% on Thursday.