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09:01 Baltic Dry at 530 points, falls 1.9%

09:01 Spanish Economy Minister Luis De Guindos says Spain's economic growth stands at 2% Y/Y however he expects it to move higher on a yearly basis

06:00
By Carla Mozee , MarketWatch
Eurozone quarterly growth above expectations
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks rose Friday, finding support after a better-than-expected reading of economic growth in Germany , considered the powerhouse of the European economy.
The German DAX jumped above the 11,000 mark for the first time after Destatis data showed gross domestic product in Germany was 0.7% higher in the fourth quarter than in the third. That official reading outstripped the 0.3% projection from a FactSet poll of analysts. The index was most recently up 0.6% at 10,986.54.
Advancers on the DAX were led by Commerzbank AG and Deutsche Bank AG (DB). Shares in those German banks rose 3.4% and 2.1%, respectively.
The gains for the German benchmark helped push the Stoxx Europe 600 up by 0.6% to 376.88. The pan-European index added to gains after data showed the eurozone's GDP grew 0.3% in the fourth quarter, above expectations of 0.2% growth.
The euro (EURUSD) edged slightly lower after the eurozone GDP report, to $1.1425 compared with $1.1435 ahead of the data. But it was up from late Thursday's level of $1.404 .
France's CAC rose 0.7% to 4,759.42, pushed higher although the country's GDP figure was disappointing compared with Germany's figure. Growth in the eurozone's second-largest economy was just 0.1% in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Greece's economy contracted 0.2% in the fourth quarter. The Athex Composite still held to an advance after the report, rising 5% to 888.86, topped by an 18% climb in shares of Attica Bank SA . Piraeus Bank SA rose 10% and National Bank of Greece SA jumped 11%. Bank stocks extended gains from Thursday when the European Central Bank raised the amount of emergency assistance that can be provided to Greek banks by 5 billion euros ( $5.7 billion ), to EUR65 billion .
Greek officials were slated to meet with representatives of the country's international creditors on Friday, ahead of Monday's meeting of eurozone finance ministers. Discussions aimed at resolving Greek's debt troubles ended in a deadlock between Greek officials and eurozone finance ministers earlier this week. Greece's current EUR240 billion bailout agreement is set to expire at the end of February.
The Stoxx 600 was on track for a weekly rise of 1%, largely stemming from Thursday's session that ended at a more than seven-year high after European leaders reached an agreement to revive a cease-fire in Ukraine , starting Sunday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that if the cease-fire doesn't hold, the European Union may opt to introduce further sanctions, adding to those that have already been imposed on Russia and pro-separatists in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
Russia's Micex was up 1.5% at 1,829.15.
In London , the FTSE 100 gained 0.7% to 6,879.32, moving toward a 0.3% rise for the week.
- Carla Mozee ; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-13-15 0602ET