European stock markets rose solidly on Friday, building on gains from the previous day as tensions appeared to ease over the Russia-Ukraine crisis, while the euro advanced versus the dollar.
London`s benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.72 percent to stand at 6,685.26 points in mid-afternoon deals.
Frankfurt`s DAX 30 index climbed 0.96 percent to 9,313.93 points and in Paris the CAC 40 advanced by 1.03 percent to stand at 4,248.93 compared with Thursday`s close.
Concerns over the situation in Ukraine were easing as Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an end to the crisis in the violence-wracked country.
In Iraq, the country`s divisive premier Nuri al-Maliki dropped his bid to stay in power, bowing to domestic and international pressure as a jihadist-led offensive threatens to tear the country apart.
"The market seems to have come to terms with geopolitics almost being the `new normal`, although comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin have given some confidence for traders," noted Chris Weston, market strategist at IG trading group.
The comments helped oil prices to recover from sharp falls the previous day, due to downbeat global economic data and easing concerns about the Ukraine crisis.
Wall Street also opened higher, looking toward a possible third straight gain with tech shares taking the lead after fresh data signalled ongoing modest growth in the US economy.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.27 percent to 16,759.31.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.37 percent at 1,962.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.54 percent to 4,477.00.In foreign exchange trade Friday, the euro rose to $1.3399 from $1.3365 late on Thursday in New York.
The European single currency climbed to 80.25 pence from 80.09 pence on Thursday, while the pound grew to $1.6696 from $1.6686.
Britain`s economy expanded by 0.8 percent in the second quarter of 2014 compared with output in the first three months of the year, official data showed on Friday.
Gross domestic product had also expanded by 0.8 percent during the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics said, confirming last month`s estimates.
GDP grew by 3.2 percent in the April-June period compared with the second quarter of 2013, the strongest growth since mid-2007 and slightly up on the initial estimate of 3.1 percent.
Rob Wood, an economist at Berenberg, said growth "could well get more lopsided in the near term" as events in Ukraine hit demand for exported goods while domestic demand expands rapidly.
The upbeat British data stands in contrast to the 18-country eurozone, where growth ground to a halt in the second quarter dragged down by top economies France and Germany, official data showed on Thursday.
European stock markets had risen on Thursday as data fuelled speculation that the European Central Bank would be forced to roll out stimulus measures.
"Bad news has resumed its position as the familiar rather than the rare story," said Capital Spreads dealer Jonathan Sudaria.
"Fears of a European recession and deflationary slump have been welcomed by markets" because of the prospect of a new ECB stimulus programme, he said.
Shares in the world`s second-largest platinum producer Impala Platinum fell more than 1.0 percent after it warned a five-month strike could slash its full-year earnings by up to 75 percent.
Asian stock markets closed higher on Friday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight, as traders shrugged off news of a rise in initial claims for US unemployment insurance benefits.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold edged up to $1,313.60 an ounce from $1,313.50 on Thursday.
