The French market is rising moderately in afternoon trading Friday, as hopes of Greece avoiding bankruptcy sent a sigh of relief across global markets. U.S. stock index futures are up and Asian markets rose, amid reassuring comments from Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.
The euro area heads of state agreed to provide additional funding to Greece if the Greek Parliament passes an austerity plan agreed with the EU, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao reportedly said the country's efforts to check inflation have worked and that the pace of price rises would drop steadily.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.83 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is advancing 0.58 percent.
After opening higher at 3,839, compared to the previous close of 3,788, the CAC 40 index has been trading firmly in positive territory. The index is currently rising 0.96 percent.
Cap Gemini is advancing 4.5 percent. STMicroelectronics is adding about 2 percent even as ING cut the stock to "Hold" from "Buy" and reduced the price target to 7.70 euros from 9.70 euros.
Peugeot and Renault are advancing 3.8 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.
Airbus maker EADS is rising 2.5 percent. Airbus won about $72.2 billion worth orders and commitments at the 49th Paris Air Show in Le Bourget.
LVMH is adding 2.35 percent. HSBC kept the stock with a "Neutral" rating and a price target of 128 euros.
Danone is up 2.2 percent as UBS raised the stock's price target to 56.50 euros from 53.50 euros.
UBS cut ArcelorMittal's price target to 24 euros from 26 euros, but the steel giant is rising 1.5 percent.
Outside the main index, Air France-KLM is adding about 3 percent. Citigroup raised the stock to "Buy" from "Hold" and increased the price target to 12.80 euros from 13.70 euros.
Lenders are on the decline, led by Natixis, which is falling 3.6 percent. Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe generale are dropping between 0.7 percent and 0.2 percent.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is adding 0.89 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is climbing 0.98 percent. Switzerland's SMI is advancing 0.32 percent.
In economic news, German business sentiment increased unexpectedly in June, reports said citing a monthly survey from the Ifo institute. The Ifo business climate index rose to 114.5 in June from 114.2 in May. Economists were expecting the reading to fall to 113.4.
Meanwhile, confidence among French consumers remained stable after a modest improvement in the previous month, but their expectations regarding the broader economy improved slightly, latest survey by the statistical office INSEE showed.
Across Asia/Pacific, major markets ended higher. Australia's All Ordinaries added 0.08 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.2 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.9 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.85 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a slightly higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks staged a significant recovery in late-day trading, ending the session mixed. Reports about a deal on Greece's austerity plan helped to offset concerns about the economic outlook. The Nasdaq rose 0.7 percent, while the Dow fell 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for August delivery is adding $0.54 to $91.56 per barrel and August gold is losing $2.2 to $1518.3 a troy ounce.
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