(MENAFN- AFP) European stocks in the eurozone's main markets mostly rose on Friday, ending on an optimistic note after the first week of European Central Bank's massive bond-buying programme to stimulate growth and ward off deflation.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 index gained 0.87 percent to hit a new record close of 11,901.61 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 climbed 0.46 percent to 5,010.46 points.
Bucking the trend, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slipped 0.30 percent to 6,740.58 points due to slumping energy shares.
"Government bond yields have plunged and equity markets have surged," said Robert Wood, Berenberg's chief UK economist, asserting that the ECB stimulus was doing its job.
Along with cheaper oil prices, Wood said, "It should put some oomph into the eurozone recovery, and gradually nudge inflation closer to the ECB's target."
The euro dipped Friday, keeping it on course to reach parity with the dollar, one day after striking a 12-year low against the greenback.
The euro stood at $1.0512 after striking a 12-year low at $1.0495 on Thursday.
The euro, which has shed about 13 percent of its value this year, has been losing further ground in recent days as the ECB has embarked on a policy of so-called quantitative easing.
The QE stimulus plan will see it buy 1.14 trillion euros worth of bonds over the next 18 months. The aim is to pump liquidity into the system so as to ward off deflation and spur growth in the single currency area.
Some analysts predict the eurozone unit could reach parity against the dollar, amid a growing policy divergence between the ECB and the US Federal Reserve.
The US central bank ended its own QE programme in October and has indicated it plans to begin raising interest rates as the recovery of the US economy consolidates.
- US equities down -
US stocks fell Friday, led by weakness in energy equities following a bearish International Energy Agency outlook on the oil market and a fall in consumer confidence.
At mid-day in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.09 percent to 17,699.44.
The broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.86 percent to 2,048.28, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.74 percent to 4,857.06.
Crude prices slipped after the IEA warned that a recent rally in the oil market probably would not last. Equities were also hit after a University of Michigan measure of consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in March, to 91.2 from 95.4 in February.
Asian markets mostly rose Friday following Thursday's surge on Wall Street after unexpectedly weak US data tempered talk of an interest rate hike by summer.
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