European stocks rise on Draghi pledge

Europe's equities rose further Friday, mirroring gains on Wall Street, after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi vowed to continue its stimulus programme for "as long as needed" to stabilise prices. In midday deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading companies added 0.41 percent to 7,001.50 points. "After almost seven years of a debilitating sequence of crises, firms and households are very hesitant to take on economic risk," said Draghi in a speech a