Markets in Europe have closed for the day and the mood has again been fairly positive, writes my colleague Nick Fletcher.

More poor German economic data - the IFO business confidence survey - has added to the growing expectation the European Central Bank might cut rates to help stimulate growth, perhaps as early as next week.

On top of that, the resolution of Italy's post-election hiatus with the appointment of Enrico Letta as the country's next prime minister has also helped sentiment. So here are the closing prices:

• The FTSE 100 has finished 25.64 points higher at 6431.76

• Germany's Dax ended up 1.32% at 7759.03

• France's Cac closed 1.58% higher at 3842.94

• Italy's FTSE MIB added 0.44% to 16563.43

• Spain's Ibex rose 1.21% to 8389.3

But at the moment the Dow Jones Industrial Average is putting in a less positive performance, down 0.18%.

And on that note, it's time to close up for the evening.Thanks for all the comments and we'll be back again tomorrow to cover all the latest developments.