European stock markets posted solid gains, with the London FTSE adding 1.8% to close at 5,105 points.
In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 1.52% to 3,538 points while in Frankfurt the DAX gained 0.71% to 5,993 points.
In Dublin, the ISEQ index of Irish shares closed at 2,895, up 47 points or 1.7%. shares were in positive territory, with Bank of Ireland up 6.7% to €0.71 and AIB up 2.4% to €0.95. It was confirmed today that AIB and Bank of Ireland are among the banks identified by the EU's Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) which are to undergo stress tests. Elsewhere Aer Lingus was up 5% to €0.84.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was up 0.3% to 10,045 points just after 5pm. The Nasdaq however, had slipped 0.2% to 2,115 points.
Earlier, Japanese shares rebounded strongly after the strong showing on Wall Street. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 2.8% to 9,536. The Hang Seng added 1% to 20,051.
