LONDON--Economic sentiment across the euro zone rose to a more than two-year high in December in another sign that the recovery is beginning to take hold after a prolonged down-turn.

Data published Thursday by the European Commission support a growing list of statistics pointing to improved spending and business confidence, with the body's economic sentiment indicator hitting the long-run average level of 100.0 in December. That's the highest since July 2011 and up from 98.4 in November.