Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, which was Dubai World's biggest loan arranger since January 2007 according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., climbed 5.2%, having plunged to a seven- month low Thursday. Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, led auto stocks higher after the Stoxx 600 Automobiles and Parts Index sank 4.3% Thursday.

The Stoxx 600 gained 1.2% to 242.6, having plummeted the most since April Thursday amid concern Dubai's proposal to delay debt payments may trigger the biggest sovereign default since Argentina in 2001. The gauge erased an earlier drop of as much as 1.8% Friday amid speculation the sheikhdom's neighbors in the United Arab Emirates may come to its aid.

National benchmark indexes rose in all 18 western European markets, except Luxembourg and Iceland. The UK's FTSE climbed 1%. France's CAC 40 advanced 1.2% and Germany's DAX added 1.3%.

The VStoxx Index, which gauges the cost of using options to protect against declines in the Euro Stoxx 50, fell 6.6%, the most in four weeks.

The Stoxx 600 has rallied 54% since March 9 amid signs government spending and record-low interest rates are helping to drag the economy out of recession. The advance has pushed the index's valuation to more than 56 times reported earnings, the highest level since June 2003.

German stocks climbed, with the DAX Index rebounding from its biggest drop since July, as concern eased that Dubai's proposal to reschedule debt payments will derail the global economic recovery.

Volkswagen AG and Bayerische Motorenwerke AG both climbed more than 3% as analysts lifted their recommendation on the shares. ThyssenKrupp AG and Salzgitter AG, the country's biggest steelmakers, increased more than 1.9%, following European basic resources shares higher.

The benchmark DAX Index added 1.3% to 5,685.61 in Frankfurt, trimming Thursday's 3.3% slump. The measure gained 0.4% this week, making up for last week's loss. The DAX has rallied 55% since its low on March 6 as Europe's biggest economy exited recession in the second quarter. The broader HDAX Index also increased Friday, gaining 1.3%.

Volkswagen rallied 6.4% to 86.16 Euros Friday, its biggest gain since July. Europe's largest carmaker was raised to "buy" from "sell" at BHF Bank AG. Separately, Volkswagen said it aims to sell 1 million units annually in the Brazilian market by 2014.

BMW, the world's largest luxury-car producer, rose 3.1% to 32.28 Euros as Equinet AG upgraded the stock to "hold" from "reduce." Separately, the company agreed to sell its Formula One racing team back to former owner Peter Sauber.

Porsche SE increased 1.2% to 47.16 Euros. The maker of the 911 sports car was raised to "neutral" from "underperform" at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.

ThyssenKrupp rose 2% to 24.47 Euros, halving Thursday's decline. Salzgitter increased 2.7% to 63.81 Euros, ending a two-day slide.

Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, Germany's two largest banks, followed European banking shares higher, gaining 2.8% to 47.94 Euros and 2.3% to 6.235 Euros respectively.

Infineon Technologies, Europe's second-largest semiconductor maker, added 4.7% to 3.22 Euros, ending two days of losses. The company expects three to four years of growth if the world economy experiences no big upheavals, Chief Executive Officer Peter Bauer told Handelsblatt.

Demag Cranes added 3% to 23.21 Euros, its biggest increase in more than three weeks. The world's largest maker of mobile harbor cranes was raised to "buy" from "sell" at DZ Bank AG.

GK Software jumped 4.9% to 40.40 Euros, rising for the fourth time this week. The German supplier of software to 12,000 shops in 20 countries, said it is raising its 2009 forecast after a nine-month increase in sales.

Init Innovation in Traffic Systems slumped 7.4% to 10 Euros, its biggest one-day decline in almost three months. The German maker of GPS tracking systems was cut to "hold" at Commerzbank AG.

Leoni climbed 4.2% to 15.36 Euros, trimming Thursday's 4.9% decline. Germany's biggest maker of automotive electrical cables was raised to "outperform" from "underperform" at CA Cheuvreux.

MTU Aero Engines increased 2.9% to 34.62 Euros, its biggest gain since Oct. 7. The company said it plans to expand in China where it will cooperate with AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co. Ltd. on a joint study to explore options for building a domestic aircraft engine industry in China.

France's CAC 40 Index gained 42.22, or 1.2%, to 3,721.45 in Paris. The gauge fell 0.2% this week. The SBF 120 Index also rose 1.2% Friday.

Avenir Telecom jumped 9 cents, or 9.2%, to 1.07 Euros, rebounding from the lowest level in more than two months. The mobile-phone services operator said first-half net profit rose to 2.3 million Euros ($3.4 million) from 183,000 Euros a year earlier.

Bouygues increased 38 cents, or 1.2%, to 33.48 Euros, ending a three-day decline. France's largest infrastructure company was raised to "equal-weight" from "underweight" at Morgan Stanley.

BNP Paribas rose 1.29 Euros, or 2.4%, to 55.14 Euros, paring a 5.1% decline Thursday. France's biggest bank has "no material exposure to Dubai's real-estate bubble," said Paris-based spokesman Pascal Henisse.

Carrefour gained 50.5 cents, or 1.6%, to 32.40 Euros, a fourth increase this week. Europe's biggest retailer was rated a "buy" in new coverage at Citigroup Inc., which said "the market will be surprised by the strength of earnings recovery in 2010."

Credit Agricole increased for a third day this week, adding 24 cents, or 1.7%, to 14.04 Euros. Calyon, the investment banking unit of France's third-largest bank by market value, has less than 300 million Euros of "exposure to Dubai's debt," spokeswoman Anne Robert said in a telephone interview Friday.

LDLC.com declined for a third session, losing 12 cents, or 4%, to 2.88 Euros. The Internet retailer of computer hardware and software posted a loss of 720,000 Euros in the first half of the 2010 fiscal year. The company said it expects to report a profit in the second half.

Renault advanced 60.5 cents, or 1.9%, to 32.17 Euros, snapping a two-day loss. Russia and France agreed on a recapitalization of OAO AvtoVAZ that includes increased Russian state financial aid to the carmaker, the French government said in a statement Friday. Renault owns 25% of Avtovaz.

Michelin, the world's second-largest tyremaker, climbed 1.75 Euros, or 3.5%, to 52.02 Euros after the Stoxx 600 Automobiles and Parts Index sank 4.3% Thursday.

In Brussels the Bel 20 closed out the week at 2,456.82, a gain or 1.25% on the day.

Dutch telecoms group KPN is selling its fixed Belgian business-to-business and carrier activities, including its fibre network to Mobistar for 65 million Euros ($97 million).

"With this transaction, KPN has decided not to invest further in the Belgian B2B market, given the generally highly unfavourable competitive environment," KPN said on Wednesday. The former Dutch telecoms monopoly said it expected to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2010.

KPN chief executive Ad Scheepbouwer last week said he was open to a sale of the activities. "In the Belgian market we have been unduly squeezed. We have not really had a chance to compete," he said at the time.

Mobistar said the transaction would have a positive impact on its revenues and earnings before interest taxes, depreciation andn amortization (EBITDA) as of 2010.

Belgian pharmaceutical group UCB has begun discussions with banks to refinance loans it agreed three years ago to buy German peer Schwarz Pharma.

UCB, a central nervous system and immunology specialist, bought Schwarz for 4.4 billion Euros ($6.64 billion) in 2006 and concluded a syndicated loan agreement.

At the end of 2008 it had drawn down 2.85 billion Euros from total facilities of 3.27 billion. Some 300 million of it expires in October 2010, the rest at the end of 2011. UCB has been working on diversification of its debt and extending its maturity portfolio. It has already issued a 500 million Euro convertible bond in September and a retail bond totalling 750 million Euros in October.

A spokeswoman said on Thursday that it was willing to use favourable windows of opportunity to complete the refinancing.

"In this context, we have initiated discussions with our core relationship banks," the spokeswoman said.

Tuesday, the National Bank of Belgium said in a report that the business confidence indicator stood at minus 8.8 in November, up from minus 14.2 in October. This was the eighth consecutive month of increase in business confidence.

Manufacturing industrial confidence increased to minus 8.6 in November from minus 15.8 in October. At the same time, the building industry confidence rose to minus 10 from minus 10.7 in October.

Meanwhile, the confidence indicator in trade sector stood at minus 10 , up from minus 17.1 in October.

Anstredam's AEX finished the trading session Friday at 309.52, up 0.91%.

Eventhough the acute threat to global financial stability has abated, the situation still remains vulnerable with market sentiment still heavily reliant on support measures, the Dutch central bank said on Monday.

"The improved market sentiment relies heavily on the exceptional support measures, which have a disruptive effect and therefore need to be phased out in time," the De Nederlandsche Bank said in its semi-annual Overview of Financial Stability report.

Mounting budget deficits and pressure on some currencies increase the chances of "a disorderly adjustment process with sharp interest and exchange rate movements," the bank warned. "The US still has a sizable current account deficit and there is uncertainty about the stability of the US Dollar."

The central bank said that the financial sector was still under considerable strain, with credit losses rising due to the recession and with profitability under pressure, while it noted that liquidity buffers are still "too small" relative to the risks involved.

"Overall, the situation at financial institutions continues to be critical, what with the new risks entailed by exposures to specific sectors, like the commercial property market," the DNB said. Financial institutions must prepare themselves to return to regular financing at competitive conditions once stimulus measures are removed, it said.

The central bank stressed the need to unwind stimulus measures gradually and in a timely manner to avoid undesirable side-effects like market disruption, and risky behavior on the part of investors in the long-term.

"In the short-term, authorities are faced with the heavy challenge of unwinding the extraordinarily expansive support measures - including broadened access to liquidity, expansive monetary policy, guarantee schemes and capital support," it said.

"At the same time, the dismantling of support measures is not without risks. To contain these risks, careful timing is imperative and the various support measures must be phased out in the right order."

Thursday, the Netherlands' Central Bureau of Statistics said the household spending dropped 3.4% year-on-year in September, but slower than a 3.8% fall in the previous month. This is the ninth consecutive month of decline in consumer spending.

Consumer expenditure on goods dropped 5.4%, while that on services fell 1.6%. Spending on durable consumer goods slipped 4.9%, and spending on food, beverages and tobacco was down 1.1%.

The ATX in Vienna rounded out the week Friday at 2,527.17, 0.73% to the upside.

Tuesday, a report by Statistics Austria said the production index, which measures manufacturing and construction output, dropped a seasonally adjusted 1% in September from August.

During this period, industrial output fell 0.6%, while construction output was down 2%.
 
On a working day adjusted basis, the production index slipped 13.7% year-on-year, reflecting a 16% drop in industrial output and a 4.5% fall in construction output.

Among the main industrial groups, durable consumer goods showed the biggest fall in output of 2.9% on a monthly basis. Year-on-year, capital goods showed the maximum fall of 22.8%.

Tuesday, the Statistics Austria said in a report that overnight stays by guests spent in accommodation facilities dropped 1% year-on-year in the May to October period to 61.7 million.

During this period, overnight stays by non-resident guests dropped 2.6% to 41.82 million. However, the stays by residents rose 2% and reached an all-time high of 19.88 million.

In October, overnight stays by tourists stood at 6.1 million, which represents a 1.5% fall from the same month a year earlier.

Zurich's SMI ended the week on 6,336.66, gains of 0.85% on Friday's session.

Employment in Switzerland increased slightly in the third quarter after falling in the second quarter, the Federal Statistical Office said Tuesday.

The number of non-farm payrolls rose 0.2% year-on-year to 3.963 million in the third quarter. Employment in the industrial sector dropped 2.6%, while rose 1.2% in the services sector.

However a 39% fall in vacancies suggests that employment is less likely to improve in the fourth quarter. In addition, the outlook index declined 3.9%.

The UBS consumption indicator for Switzerland rose to 0.87 in October from a revised 0.67 recorded in September, the UBS bank said Tuesday. It remained below its long-term average of 1.5, indicating a modest increase in private consumption year-on-year.

"The indicator has languished at low levels this year, and with unemployment on the rise, consumption spending is likely to suffer," the UBS said.

Among the five sub-indicators of the UBS consumption indicator, new car registrations and consumer sentiment improved in October, while hotel stays by Swiss nationals and retail sales declined.

Despite brightening economic prospects for Switzerland, UBS economists expect private consumption to weaken in the coming months. In particular, the expected rise in unemployment and the associated job uncertainty are likely to dampen consumer behavior. UBS thinks a recovery in private consumption is unlikely before the middle of next year.

UBS forecasts Swiss GDP growth of 1.7% in 2010 and 2.1% in 2011. Although private consumption will probably make only a modest contribution next year, UBS economists expect it to contribute to economic growth again in 2011.

The OMX in Stockholm finished at 952.53, up 1.37% Friday.

Swedish financial officers are becoming increasingly more optimistic, consistent with the positive economic indicators, the latest SEB Financial Officers' survey showed Wednesday.

The Financial Officers' Index stood at 59 in September, up from 54 in August, and marked the highest reading since May 2008. The survey suggests that respondents are more neutral regarding the current business climate.

More financial officers are expecting volume growth to contribute to higher profitability in 2010, the survey found. Moreover, the officers also regarded price increases as more likely. While most respondents expect prices to be unchanged, about 46% expect them to rise over the next six months.

At the same time, more than 40% of financial officers said their companies were only mid way through the crisis. "This result has not changed significantly since our last survey in August and suggests that it may still take some time before companies fully recover despite the turnaround in the global economy", Disa Hammar, the co-author of the survey said.

The SEB's Financial Officers' Index, is a quarterly survey whose purpose is to reflect changes of sentiment in the financial environment and facilitate the understanding of economic and financial trends. The latest survey was carried out among 70 of Sweden's largest companies.

Consumer confidence in Sweden rose further for the seventh consecutive month in November, the National Institute of Economic Research said Wednesday. The confidence index climbed to 11.4 from 7.5 in the previous month.

The survey showed that confidence in personal finances and the Swedish economy improved in November. Moreover, household pessimism concerning unemployment trend continued to decline.

Moreover, the business confidence indicator rose by four points in November, and was up for the eighth consecutive month. All the sub sectors made a positive contribution to the index, but situation in the business sector remained weaker than normal. Employment continued to fall, but firms indicated that they would cut fewer staff.

Meanwhile, the economic sentiment indicator, which includes the consumer and manufacturing confidence, rose to 98.8 in November from 94.9 in the previous month.

Tuesday, the Statistics Sweden announced that producer prices decreased 1.8% year-on-year in October, compared to the 1.6% fall in the previous month. Economists expected a decline of 1.6%.

Month-on-month, producer prices slipped 0.4% in October, after falling 0.9% in September. Economists were looking for a decline of 0.1%.

Meanwhile, export prices dropped 2% on a yearly basis in September, after a 0.8% fall last month. Import prices dropped 3.2% compared to a 4% fall in the previous month. On a monthly basis, export prices fell 0.8%, while import prices declined 1.1%

On Oslo, the OBX completed the week at 323.46, up 1.94%.

Norway's economic growth accelerated in the third quarter, led by a recovery in exports, official data showed Tuesday.

Mainland gross domestic product, which excludes oil, gas and shipping, rose 0.5% sequentially in the third quarter after growing 0.3% in the second quarter, the Statistics Norway said. Economists had forecast 0.8% growth.

Total GDP rose 0.9% sequentially in the third quarter following a 0.9% decline in the previous quarter.

In a report released on Tuesday, the SEB bank said growth in mainland GDP, is likely to be somewhat above trend in 2010 and 2011. "Concerning overall GDP, however, investment in the oil sector is a key downside risk despite the strong rebound in oil prices." The Norges Bank is likely to raise interest rates somewhat more than it has stated, the SEB said.
 
Detailed data showed that petroleum activities and ocean transport rebounded by 2% and households final consumption growth steadied at 1.1%. government spending grew 1.2%, while gross fixed capital formation slipped 4.8%. Exports recovered strongly by growing 4.6%, while imports fell 0.8%.

In October, Norway's central bank became the first central bank in Europe to hike key policy rate since the financial crisis. It made a quarter point hike in key policy rate to 1.50%. The central bank had slashed interest rates by 4.5 percentage points between October 2008 and June this year.

The Norwegian jobless rate stood at 3.1% of the labor force during August to October, the Statistics Norway said in a report on Wednesday. The expected rate was 3.3%. The statistical office revised the unemployment rate for August, measured by the average of three months from July to September period, to 3.1% from 3.2%.

The Labor Force Survey showed that seasonally-adjusted figures for registered unemployed with the Labour and Welfare Organization remained stable at the same level as in August.

Helsinki's OMX rounded off a volatile week by closing at 6,190.97, up 1.47% for Friday's session.

Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia said Tuesday that it would reduce R&D activities in Japan, resulting in elimination of around 220 jobs, representing slightly more than 1% of Nokia's R&D personnel globally. The move aims to align its research and development operations in line with its focused portfolio of future products. A few days back, the company has announced 330 job cuts at R&D sites in Finland and Denmark.

Overall, Nokia has over 17,000 people employed in its R&D activities. However, the Japanese operation of Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia's network infrastructure business, and Vertu, Nokia's handcrafted mobile phones for the luxury market, would not be affected and would continue uninterrupted.

The Finnish economic affairs ministry said in a report unveiled Thursday that the country's tourism industry should prepare for a period of low growth after a difficult year.

The government said in a statement however that the industry's outlook was positive when compared with current low demand.

According to the report the industry was in better financial shape than it had been after the early 1990s recession.

But Anneli Harju-Autti of the Lapland employment and economic development centre said there was no turn for the better on the horizon as far as jobs were concerned.

"As recently as a year ago there was a labour shortage, but this year one has seen oversupply," she added in the statement.

"This is reflected in a reduction in the use of temps."

The ministry said the industry had seen demand drop by 4.3% year-on-year in the January-to-September period, with its room occupancy rate plummeting below 50%.

Tuesday, the Statistics Finland announced that the jobless rate stood at 8.2% in October, up from a 5.8% recorded a year ago. Economists expected the jobless rate to be 8.1%. In September, the jobless rate was 7.3%.

The number of unemployed totaled 215,000 persons in October, larger than the 155,000 unemployed persons in the previous year. At the same time, the number of employed decreased to 2.4 million from 2.52 million last year.

Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate stood at 64.9% in October, down from 66.7% in September.

In Copenhagen the OMX closed out the session and the week at 327.28, up 0.46%.

Denmark's unemployment rate rose in October albeit to a lower level than expected following a surprisingly steep increase in September, while data for that month were revised lower, the statistics office said Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in October from a downwardly revised 4.0% in September and 3.7% in August and July, Statistics Denmark said.

Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 4.3% in October, from September's original reading of 4.1%.

Economists expect Danish unemployment to rise further as the labor market adjusts to the slowdown in global demand.

Still, Danish unemployment remains low relative to other European countries, a fact that economists partly attribute to the country's flexible labor market policies.

Late in 2007, Denmark was the first country in the European Union to enter recession.

Danish low-cost airline Cimber Sterling has received subscription orders for all 27.5 million new shares in its initial public offering this week, it said late on Thursday.

The offering will close on Friday after the company exercises an over-allotment option, a right to sell additional shares, Cimber Sterling Chairman Niels Erik Nielsen told Reuters.

'We have received orders for the minimum amount, which is between 275 million and 330 million crowns ($56-67 mln) so the IPO will go through,' Nielsen said. 'Now, a greenshoe will be offered Friday and tomorrow.'

IPOs this year by Asian and US companies have generally been well received by investors but offerings have been slow to take off in Europe.

Cimber Sterling will announce the final offer price on Monday, it said in a statement.

Madrid's IBEX finished Friday on 11,776.80, a gain of 1.02% on the day.

Spain's wind turbine sector will increasingly feel the consequences of the global economic crisis in the first half of next year, Jose Donoso, President of Spain's Wind Energy Association, or AEE, said Wednesday.

"In 2009, Spain maintained its level of activity, but the big question is what will happen from 2010 on," Donoso said at a press conference.

He added that about 1,800 megawatts in wind power generation capacity could be installed in Spain this year given the vast volume of turbine orders made in 2008 when oil prices reached record levels.

Most wind power projects take one to two years to be built, causing a time-lag effect between turbine orders and the completion of wind parks.

About 1,600 MW in wind power were installed in Spain last year.

Spain is home to Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologia, one of the world's top wind turbine manufacturers.

Spanish builder OHL said on Thursday it plans to propose a rights issue worth 199.4 million Euros ($301 million) at its shareholders meeting Friday, in the proportion of 1 new share for every 5 already held.

OHL's core shareholder Grupo Villar Mir has pledged to subscribe its part, taking up about 57.2% of the 16.6 million new shares to be issued at 12 Euros each, the construction and services group said.

Retail sales in Spain dropped 3.9% year-on-year in October, the Madrid based National Statistics Institute reported on Thursday. Economists had expected a 2.4% decrease. Adjusting for calendar effects, total retail sales slumped 2.7% compared with October 2008.

Excluding sales at service stations, the retail sales index dropped 3% annually. Sales at supermarkets were down 3.1%. Further, the statistical office said that employment in the retail sector decreased by 3.9% in October.

Region wise, sales were down across the Iberian nation excepting Castilla y Leon. The largest declines were witnessed in Castilla La Mancha and Valencia.

Producer prices in Spain fell 4.2% year-on-year in October, slower than the 5.4% decline in the previous month, Madrid based National Statistics Institute reported on Tuesday. Economists were looking for a 3.1% decrease. This is the tenth straight month in which producer prices have fallen.

Producer prices dropped 5.2% annually in manufacturing. Prices plummeted 24.1% in the manufacture of coke & refined petroleum products, while prices in the manufacture of basic metals fell 20.3%.

On a monthly basis, producer prices were flat in October compared to the 0.4% slump in the preceding month.

Lisbon's PSI General rounded off the week on 2,855.04, up 0.89%.

Portuguese cement producer Cimentos de Portugal said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit rose 64% on the year, with a strong performance in emerging markets outweighing weak construction activity in Spain and Portugal.

Cimpor, as the company is also known, said its net profit climbed to Eur70.7 million in the third quarter, up from a Eur43.2 million profit a year earlier.

Revenue dropped 2.9% to Eur552 million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, decreased 3.7% to Eur159 million, the company said in a filling to the Portuguese stock market regulator.

In the first nine months of the year, Cimpor's net profit climbed to Eur177.8 million, up from Eur150.3 million a year earlier.

Cimpor said its geographical diversification helped it to achieve solid results in the nine-month period. While Portugal and Spain was a particularly weak spot, as the end of a decade-long construction boom took a heavy toll on cement demand, this was offset by a strong performance in Brazil, Egypt and South Africa, the company said.

Italy's benchmark FTSE MIB Index gained 282.83, or 1.3%, to 22,205.28 in Milan. The gauge fell 1.4% this week.

Banca Popolare di Milano rose 11 cents, or 2.2%, to 5.23 Euros. Italy's exposure to Dubai is "very limited" and the country has "no worries" about the issue, Bank of Italy Director General Fabrizio Saccomanni told reporters in Rome Friday. Banco Popolare SC (BP IM) added 10.5 cents, or 1.9%, to 5.6 Euros.

Bulgari gained 25.5 cents, or 4.2%, to 6.3 Euros, erasing Thursday's loss. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded the world's third-largest jeweler to "buy" from "neutral." BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research lifted its price estimate to 7 Euros from 6.6 Euros.

Credito Emiliano climbed 38.5 cents, or 7.8%, to 5.34 Euros, ending a three-day decline. Mediobanca Securities increased its price estimate to 6 Euros from 5.5 Euros and reiterated an "outperform" recommendation.

Fiat gained for the first time in four days, adding 21 cents, or 2.2%, to 9.85 Euros. Gruppo Banca Leonardo initiated coverage of the carmaker with a "buy" rating and a price estimate of 13.2 Euros. Exor SpA (EXO IM), Fiat's main shareholder, advanced 70 cents, or 5.8%, to 12.81 Euros.

Geox increased 6.25 cents, or 1.4%, to 4.7 Euros, a third gain this week. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded the shoemaker to "neutral" from "sell."

Intesa Sanpaolo added 4 cents, or 1.4%, to 2.91 Euros. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on Italy's second-biggest bank, saying that "Intesa continues to be exposed to recovering operating trends in 2010 without disruptions related to funding issues."

Pirelli gained 1.4 cents, or 3.5%, to 41.7 cents after the Stoxx 600 Automobiles and Parts Index sank 4.3% Thursday.

Safilo Group, the world's second-largest maker of eyewear, surged 4.1 cents, or 7.6%, to 58.1 cents. HAL Holding NV said it extended its offer to purchase Safilo's senior notes to Nov. 30 after getting tenders for 42.45% of the amount outstanding as of 5 p.m. local time Thursday.

Snai rose 16.25 cents, or 5.7%, to 3.04 Euros, snapping a three-day loss. The country's biggest racetrack manager said it received a binding offer from Bridgepoint Capital Ltd. and Axa Investment Managers Private Equity Europe SA regarding a reorganization of its betting and gaming activities.

UniCredit advanced for the first time in four days, adding 7 cents, or 3.1%, to 2.33 Euros. Italy's largest bank said in a statement that its exposure to Dubai World is "not material and therefore not relevant."

In Athens, the Athex ended the day and the week at 2,257.43, up 1.44%.

Titan, Greece's biggest cement producer, said on Wednesday nine-month net profit fell 36.5% to 103.7 million Euros ($156.1 million), on slower construction activity in the Balkans and the United States.

The net profit was above the average forecast of 94.1 million Euros given in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Revenue declined 11.6% to 1.04 billion Euros, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation dropped 11.4% to 258 million Euros.

Titan, which operates in 12 countries, has said it is going down from full production capacity for the first time in the last 20 years as it focuses on cutting costs and reducing debt.

Greek bank shares fell as much as 7.0% on Wednesday on worries over funding and a weak economy with the CEO of the country's largest lender countering that the fears were overdone.

'The rumours in the last days regarding the impact of the economic crisis, especially in view of the gradual withdrawal of extraordinary liquidity support measures by the European Central Bank, are at least exaggerated,' Takis Arapoglou, CEO of National Bank said in a statement, speaking as the head of the Greek banks association.

Banks shares, with gains of 67% year-to-date, took a beating on Wednesday and underperformed the broader Greek market with traders saying central bank comments a day earlier had sparked the sell-off.

'The latest developments at a sovereign ratings level reignited concerns on how Greek banks' funding costs will be affected,' said Spyros Pantelias, general manager at Bank of Cyprus.

'But what we are seeing is an exaggeration. It's overdone, he said.'

At a parliament briefing on Tuesday, Bank of Greece chief George Provopoulos said the deterioration in public finances posed a risk of a downgrade by ratings agencies if measures were not taken to remedy the situation.

'If the downgrades of the country's credit ratings continue ... we will find ourselves in the terrifying position of not drawing liquidity from the ECB because of the risk (Greek) bonds may not be accepted (as collateral),' Provopoulos said.

Greek lenders had borrowed about 40 billion Euros ($60 billion) from the ECB so far this year, he said.

Greek banks have been making money trading bonds. They have piled on a carry trade -- funding government bonds in their portfolios with cheap 1.0% liquidity from the European Central Bank.

Relative to their size, Greek banks have been among the biggest users of ECB funding. The amount they have borrowed out of a total of about 665 billion Euros seems like an overallocation.

The sum amounts to about 6.3% of the total when Greece's 250 billion Euro economy accounts for about 2.5% of the Euro zone's GDP.

Banks have used mostly government bonds as collateral, with the carry trade earning them spreads of 3-4%. On top of this, they make capital gains when bond prices rise.

But downward pressures on Greek government paper and an eventual removal of the ECB's nipple has pressurised bank shares.

The cost of protecting Greek government debt against default jumped on Wednesday, according to data monitor CMA DataVision, as Greek assets remained under pressure on worries over funding and a weak economy.

The five-year credit default swap (CDS) on Greek government debt climbed to 193.6 basis points from 188.9 basis points at the New York close on Tuesday, CMA said.

This was still well off the peak of 285.1 bps hit in February during the height of the global economic turmoil, according to CMA.

This means it now costs 193,600 Euros per year to insure an exposure of 10 million Euros of Greek government bonds, up from 188,900 Euros on Tuesday.

The premium investors demand to hold 10-year Greek government bonds rather than Euro zone benchmark German Bunds rose to nearly 185 basis points earlier, its highest in five months, as the paper continued to underperform other "peripheral" Euro zone issuers.