European Stocks Soar On Surprise Stimulus From Bank Of Japan

(RTTNews) - European stocks skyrocketed Friday, following Asian shares sharply higher after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced a big boost to its quantitative easing stimulus program.

The news raised hopes that the European Central Bank will follow suit with more stimulus despite previous reluctance from the ECB.

Highly accommodative monetary policy in Japan and Europe is seen as boon to the global economy as the U.S. Federal Reserve exits from its six-year stimulus.

Markets largely ignored troublesome economic data from Europe and the U.S.

German retail sales declined at the fastest pace since May 2007 in September, data from Destatis showed. Meanwhile, U.S. personal spending and income figures were disappointing.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks rose 2.55 percent, and is now slightly positive year-to-date.

The German DAX rose 2.33 percent, the French CAC 40 advanced 2.22 percent and the FTSE 100 index of the U.K. rose 1.28 percent. Switzerland's SMI was also notably higher.

Big banks posted notable gains. Barclays shares soared 8.2 percent, just a day after the company said third-quarter earnings fell sharply.

Royal Bank of Scotland reported a profit for the third quarter compared with a loss last year. The stock jumped 6.2 percent.

In Paris, BNP Paribas added close to 4 percent, after its third-quarter profit increased from the prior year.

Linde fell 2.8 percent after it was downgraded to "Sell" from "Hold" at S&P Capital IQ.

International Consolidated Airlines climbed 4.7 percent. The company reported increased quarterly profit and raised its full year earnings forecast.

Anheuser-Busch InBev added 1 percent in Brussels. The brewer reported higher third-quarter profit, but total volumes declined 2.6 percent, amid weakness in Russia and China.

Danone added 2.9 percent after buying a 25 percent stake in Chinese baby formula maker Yashili International Holdings.