European shares surged on Friday, on track for their biggest weekly gain so far this year, after the Bank of Japan surprised global financial markets by ramping up its massive stimulus spending, Reuters reported. At 1448 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.7 percent at 1,350.87 points, setting it on course for a 2.9 percent weekly gain, the biggest since December 2013. The Bank of Japan's decision to buy more assets helped ease concerns about the end of the U.S. Federal Reserve's own quantitative easing programme and the European Central Bank's reluctance so far to engage in large-scale bond buying despite sluggish inflation. French auto maker Renault, which has a partnership with Japan's Nissan, rose 3.8 percent as a slump in the yen made Japanese exports more attractive. Despite the 5.5 percent bounce over the past two weeks, the FTSEurofirst 300 was still on track to record a 2.1 percent loss for October, its steepest monthly drop in 16 months. -- SPA 19:04 LOCAL TIME 16:04 GMT تغريد
