In Europe, Frankfurt, London and Paris equities climbed after an upbeat session in Asia, which was also lifted by hopes China will unveil fresh measures to kickstart growth."Markets are ending the week on a positive note but there remains enormous uncertainty around inflation and interest rates that looks set to continue throughout the summer," said Craig Erlam, seniro market analyst at OANDA trading platform.
The yen struck a 15-year euro low after the Bank of Japan maintained ultra-loose monetary policy, while the dollar struggled to bounce from losses fuelled by bets the US Federal Reserve is near the end of its tightening cycle. The Fed paused Wednesday after 10 straight interest rate increases -- but signalled more to come in order to tame inflation.
However, both institutions have indicated they expect more hikes will be needed to bring inflation back under control.