Europe's main stock markets rose on Friday as investors awaited crucial economic data and tracked US attempts to rein in the banking sector, dealers said. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.32 percent to 5,636.72 points, in Paris the CAC 40 was up 0.58 percent to 3,951.86 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 rose 0.67 percent to 5,968.58 points.
The Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares won 0.70 percent to 2,916.27 points. Markets were bracing for February US retail sales data due later in the day, a key gauge of consumer sentiment and the health of the US economy.
"With no economic news out this morning we may struggle for direction and could see the market trade sideways until the afternoon when we get US Retail Sales at 1330 GMT," said analyst David Rees at betting firm Spreadex. Wall Street staged an 11th hour rally on Thursday after the head of Citigroup, Vikram Pandit, said he was sure the major bank was on track for a sustainable recovery, lifting sentiment.
After opening mostly lower, the market headed into positive territory in the final hour of trade, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.44 percent to finish at 10,611.84 points.
The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index also climbed 0.40 percent to 1,150.24 after hitting a multi-month peak. "The US markets had a bullish last hour's trading with the S&P reaching a new 17-month high and this has sent positive ripples over to Europe today," said City Index analyst Joshua Raymond.
"The banks led the charge higher in the United States last night after bipartisan Senate talks over financial regulation broke down, which is lifting a bit of uncertainty out of the banks in the near term."
President Barack Obama wants to rein in America's largest banks with new rules to block mega-mergers and bar investments seen as too risky. "Obama is attempting to bring about an overhaul of the way the financial markets are regulated in the US," added Raymond.
"This could have a significant effect on the way banks seek to make money and so the breakdown in Senate talks is being seen as a positive for bank stocks." The positive sentiment spilled over into the British banking sector, with Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds shares rallying by around two percent in London trade on Friday.
In earlier Asian deals, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index climbed 0.81 percent on Friday, following gains on Wall Street and on a softer yen, which spells good news for exporters, dealers said.
Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index closed flat as investors remained cautious following China's revelation a day earlier that inflation had jumped in February. News of spiking Chinese inflation heightened investor concerns about Beijing's efforts to cool its red-hot economy.