European stocks closed higher yesterday, although growing concerns over Greece and looming elections in France and Germany gnawed at sentiment.
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,229.50 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 was up 0.9% at 11,642.86 points, Paris’ CAC 40 climbed 1.3% at 4,826.24 points and the Euro STOXX 50 jumped 1.3% at 3,280.12 points at close. 
One of the top gainers in Paris was French bank Societe Generale, whose shares won almost 3% after posting better-than-expected net profits for 2016.
Profits after tax nevertheless still slid 3.2% to €3.87bn ($4.13bn), hit by accounting expenses and losses arising from the sale of its Croatian subsidiary, SocGen said in a statement.
US stocks pushed to fresh record highs yesterday after US President Donald Trump promised details soon about his tax cut proposals.
The blue-chip Dow and the broader S&P 500 both touched fresh record highs following the comments.
Equities in the United States have been on bull run since Trump’s election in November on hopes his pledges to boost infrastructure spending and cut taxes will boost the world’s largest economy, although details have so far remained scarce.
Stocks elsewhere have also got a boost as investors hope faster growth in the United States would perk up the global economy.
World markets had wavered on Wednesday as increasing uncertainty about France’s political outlook and fears of another debt crisis brewing in Greece sent yields on European government debt higher.
Greek crisis worries were ignited this week after the International Monetary Fund warned the country would likely not reach targets prescribed for it to qualify for bailout cash.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble reaffirmed his staunch opposition to cutting Greece’s debt, even as the International Monetary Fund has pressed Athens’ creditors for such a move.
Yields on Greek government 10-year bonds, which fell under 6.5% in November, are closing back in on 8.0% in secondary market trading.
For comparison, the yields on similar maturity German government debt is 0.31%.
Shares in Twitter took a 10% dive after the social network reported sluggish revenue and user growth, while its net loss in the fourth quarter of 2016 ballooned to $167mn, from $90mn in the same period in 2015.
Some analysts had expected a bump in Twitter use following the election of US President Donald Trump, who is an avid user of the platform and frequently offers his views on policy.
Twitter, which has never reported a profit, has been revamping its offerings as it seeks to expand beyond its core base of politicians, celebrities and journalists.