Traders said dealing was highly volatile with stocks see-sawing between gains and losses. The UK’s FTSE-100 benchmark index closed 25.2 points, or 0.5%, stronger at 5066.81. The barometer of top shares dropped as low as 4928.14 before rallying later in the session. It lost 5.6%, or £78 billion, of its value this week, the second-worst weekly fall this year.

The Paris Bourse’s CAC-40 index finished 1.02% higher and the Frankfurt DAX ended the day up 0.63%.

Wall Street stocks moved higher on talk the European Central Bank might add liquidity to shore up the region’s vulnerable banking system, but worries about a global recession kept US markets volatile. New York stocks fell sharply on Thursday.

Earlier, markets were unnerved after Deutsche Bank said European banks may face a bigger-than-expected hit from a swap deal on Greek government debt. Picture: Reuters