They reached four-year highs early on Thursday (November 7).
Boosted by trade hopes - China says it's close to a tariffs-ending deal with the U.S.
And lifted by earnings.
Among the headliners: Siemens.
The German conglomerate's forcecast-beating Q4 results popped its shares to a one-year best.
Lufthansa got an even bigger rise - of six and a half per cent - on plans to cut costs.
The upbeat trade news put miners and automakers among the top sector performers of the morning session.
Banks were more mixed: Unicredit gained nearly 5 per cent on news its Q3 profits had jumped by over a quarter.
But Commerzbank fell sharply after issuing a profit warning.
Standout performers on a heavy day of earnings also included giant steelmaker ArcelorMittal - up over 7 per cent after it too beat forecasts.
Wind-turbine maker Vestas added 10 per cent for similar reasons.
There were losers: German broadcaster ProSiebenSat1 Media lost nearly 8 per cent after it said TV advertising revenue was sinking ever-faster.
But overall, a positive mood prevailed ...
Pushing the pan-European STOXX 600 to within 2 per cent of its record high.
