London - European stocks climbed on Friday with London striking a fresh record peak on takeover news, and the euro rising after Greece pledged new reform plans to extend its bailout and the EU offered €2bn in emergency aid.
In morning deals London's benchmark FTSE 100 index soared to a record-high 6 987.92 points, extending this week's gains won on the back of the British budget and cooling US rate hike hopes.
The FTSE stood at 6 982.83 points in afternoon trading, up 0.29% from Thursday's closing level.