European Markets Gain, France's Cac 40 Highest Since 2008

Frankfurt (Oct 27)  European markets opened strongly higher on Friday, after U.S. indices hit record highs on the back of stellar earnings from Amazon (AMZN) , Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT)

Markets were also benefiting from dovish comments made by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who on Thursday outlined plans to slowly reduce bond buying in its quantitative easing program. This encouraged France's Cac 40 to hit it highest point in almost 10 years. The country's main index gained 1% on Friday morning, to 5,510, breaching 5,500 for the first time since January 2008.

London's FTSE 100 was up 0.23%, or 17.72 points, to 7,504.37 after closing 0.5% up Thursday after it got a boost from the falling pound. The market was being dragged down by British Airways-owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (ICAGY) , which fell more than 4% to change hands at 639.99 pence despite posting a 22.5% jump in pre-tax profit to €1.4 billion on significantly lower fuel costs.

The pound was under pressure today, losing 0.52% against the greenback, to $1.309, its lowest level of the month. Focus has turned to next week's Bank of England meeting where the Monetary Policy Committee is expected to raise rates by 0.25%.

Germany's Dax was up 0.81%, or 107.04 points, to 13,241.01.  The gains put the indices on track for their sixth weekly gain.

U.S futures were pointing to a higher opening, with Dow Jones mini futures up 0.18% and S&P mini futures up 0.25%. The dollar extended its rally on Friday after the House of Representatives passed a budget resolution Thursday that clears the path for Congress to fast-track reform legislation.

The dollar index, which weighs the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.2% to its highest point in more than 15 weeks. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 2.47%, the highest in more than seven months.

Spain's Ibex however was marked 0.58% lower to 10,285.2 as the crisis in Catalan continues. Spanish lawmakers on Friday are expected to pass legislation that will allow Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to take control of the region's budget, police and state-run media. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont will address regional parliament. He is under pressure to declare independence after an Oct. 1 referendum.

The euro was under pressure Friday morning, down 0.22% against the greenback to $1.16.

TheStreet