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European stocks rose in early trade on Friday, halting a sharp two-day retreat as a renewed fall in the euro helped boost exporters' shares.
Denmark's Novo Nordisk featured among the top gainers, up 13 per cent after the pharmaceutical firm said it would submit interim data from a clinical trial of its crucial new insulin drug Tresiba to US regulators within next month.
At 0827 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.6 per cent at 1,583.03 points.
European stocks tumbled in the past two sessions, with the FTSEurofirst 300 losing 1.9 per cent as a rebounding euro currency prompted investors to cash in recent sharp gains.
The euro fell back on Friday, trading at $1.0811, well below Thursday's intraday high of $1.10525. European shares have strongly rallied in the past six months as investors bet a sharp drop in the currency would boost the region's economy and lift corporate results.
"The impact from the lower euro, and also from lower oil prices, will be quite significant on European earnings and is set to support the market for a while," said Arnaud Scarpaci, fund manager at Montaigne Capital.
"The market is also set to see further cash coming from foreign investors, especially Asian and Middle-Eastern investors as they increase their exposure to Europe."
Euro down 20%
The euro is down about 20 per cent against the dollar over the past year, which is set to give euro zone companies a major lift as roughly 50 per cent of their earnings come from outside the region.
The single currency had retreated on prospects of a quantitative easing campaign from the European Central Bank, which was launched earlier this month, contrasting with the trajectory of monetary policy in the United States where the Federal Reserve is seen raising interest rates this year.
Mining shares bucked the trend on Friday, with Rio Tinto down 1.1 per cent and Anglo American down 2.3 per cent.
An industry official said three-quarters of China's domestic iron ore capacity was incurring losses, as a sustained slump in the price of the steelmaking commodity batters higher-cost producers.
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