Sina US stocks on December 21-European stock markets approached record highs on Friday, and the news of Brexit on January 31 was further confirmed that investors have been buying markets that have been disturbed by uncertainty for more than three years.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal was passed by Parliament on Friday, further convincing markets that a Conservative majority could lead to a smooth exit from the EU.

The good news of Brexit, coupled with the easing of international trade tensions, prepared the pan-European Stoxx 600 index for its best fourth-quarter performance since 2011. Analysts also expect the eurozone economy to be relatively stronger in 2020 against the backdrop of eurozone economic recovery.

"We are optimistic because we know through Lagarde that EU monetary policy will continue to play an important role, although its effectiveness has diminished," said Ephie Coumanakos, managing partner of Concord Financial Group.

"overall, 2020 may be a good year for Europe. Economic growth will not accelerate this year-it will still be quite slow-(but) we are starting to see some improvement. We would like to see more inflation. I am cautiously optimistic. "

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7% on Friday, slightly below the all-time high it hit earlier this week. Chemical, food and beverage sectors led the rise. All sectors rose except banks and cars.

Britain's FTSE 100th index closed up 0.04%, rising for eight consecutive days to 7577.13, up 3.04% this week, its best weekly performance in the last three years.

The final figures for UK economic growth in the third quarter showed that the economy grew slightly faster than originally expected, and the UK's current account deficit fell to its lowest level since 2012.

Italy's FTSE MIB index rose 1.24 per cent to 24003.64, up 2.89 per cent this week as Enel, Italy's largest utility, rose to a more than one-and-a-half-year high. The company's shares rose 1 per cent after Moody's Corporation upgraded its outlook for its Latin American subsidiary Enel Americas to positive.

Nexi Plc rose 2.4 percent after Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo said Thursday it would sell its retailer's payment business to Nexi for 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).

France's CAC 40 index hit its highest level since July 2007, up 0.83 per cent. Cosmetics maker L'Or é al is the best performer in the index.

Carnival Corp., the travel company, rose 7.2%, making it the best performer in the Stoxx 600. the company's quarterly profit and revenue led both the FTSE and Stoxx 600 higher. The company also predicts that profits in 2020 will exceed previous expectations.

NMC Health shares fell about 16%, the fourth day in a row, making it the worst performer in the Stoxx 600 index, after short seller Muddy Waters disclosed its short positions in the company's shares. The company lost about 2 billion pounds in market value on Friday.