(MENAFN- AFP) European stock markets rose Friday, with Germany's main index breaching 11,000 points for the first time, as Greece appeared closer to a possible overhaul of its bailout.
The DAX index hit an intraday high of 11,013.85 points in mid-morning trade on the Frankfurt stock exchange -- driven also by positive economic data.
It later stood up 0.62 percent at 10,987.22 points.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index won 0.74 percent to 6,878.87 points and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.77 percent to stand at 4,762.73 points compared with Thursday's close.
European stocks had already rallied on Thursday as markets welcomed a ceasefire and aid for Ukraine, while holding onto hopes for a deal over Greece's bailout.
In Friday deals, the Greek stock exchange was up 6.42 percent on optimism for a deal on the country's rapidly expiring bailout after Athens agreed to start technical talks with eurozone partners.
"An increase in optimism where Greece and Eastern Ukraine is concerned enables traders to shift focus onto positive fundamentals like QE (stimulus) being implemented by the ECB and a weak euro resulting in improving economic growth prospects for the eurozone," said Markus Huber, senior analyst at brokers Peregrine & Black.
Greece's new anti-austerity government may have struggled to secure an agreement to renegotiate the terms of the loathed bailout in marathon talks in Brussels, but hope remained that a solution can be found by a last-ditch Eurogroup meeting on Monday.
Greece's new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras edged closer to securing a massive revamp of its huge bailout after making his case Thursday to sceptical EU leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Meanwhile after 17-hour talks the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany on Thursday hammered out a blueprint to end the conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels.
The ceasefire is to take effect at midnight Sunday (2200 GMT Saturday) in Ukraine and heavy weapons are to be withdrawn from front lines.
In another boost, the German economy, Europe's biggest, expanded surprisingly strongly in the fourth quarter of 2014, driven primarily by robust consumer spending, official data showed on Friday.
In the period from October to December, gross domestic product expanded by 0.7 percent, bringing full-year growth to 1.6 percent, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.
In foreign exchange trade, the euro picked up to $1.1429 from $1.1406 late in New York on Thursday.
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