Paris CAC-40: 3094.01 (+41.94)

French shares posted strong gains, boosted by the weak US employment figures which drove ahead the US market and pulled up European shares. But market strategists remain cautious about the prospects for the market and some feel the current situation in the US of strong growth and low inflation will come to an end at some stage.

Milan Mibtel: 15535 (+218)

Italian shares rose in line with the rally on the US market in the wake of the non-farm payroll figures. The market has now regained all the losses of earlier in the week after the domestic political difficulties sent share prices slumping.

The Frankfurt market was closed for a national holiday