LONDON, June 14: Europe's main stock markets extended gains on Thursday as Wall Street recovered strongly overnight after a recent slump.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.88 per cent to 6,617.10 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 jumped 1.46 per cent to 7,793.12 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 0.88 per cent to 5,986.76.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares increased 1.09 per cent to 4,449.68 points. The euro stood at 1.3301 dollars.

US shares powered higher Wednesday on fresh signs of strength in consumer spending and encouraging signals from the Federal Reserve on economic growth and muted inflation, dealers said.

In London, positive broker comment helped push British bank Bradford & Bingley to the top of the FTSE 100.

Bradford surged 5.07 per cent to 420 pence after Swiss broker Credit Suisse upgraded it to 'neutral' from 'underperform,'saying it believes the shares' recent decline was ending.

In Frankfurt, a broker upgrade for German engineering conglomerate MAN sent its shares climbing 2.57 per cent to 106.10 euros.

WestLB upgraded MAN to 'buy' from 'hold', with an increased price target of 130 euros from 100.

In Paris, French food giant Danone advanced 3.08 per cent to 58.6 euros, with analysts arguing that concerns over the group's litigation with Chinese partner Wahaha have been overdone.—AFP