European shares extend gains, banks surge higher

European shares extended gains on Friday, as Wall Street opened sharply higher after stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 2.1 percent at 1,077.37 points, while the Euro STOXX 50 index rose 3.8 percent to 2,349.82 points.

Banks were the best-performing European equity sector, with the STOXX European bank index rising by 4.2 percent.