European Stocks Recover After ECB Inaction

The French CAC 40 index rose 0.39 percent or 12.58 points to 3245.04. Shares of Credit Agricole SA advanced 1.01 percent and those of Vinci SA climbed 0.67 percent.

London's FTSE 100 index was up 0.34 percent or 19.34 points to 5681.64. Shares of Kazakhmys Plc rose 1.25 percent and shares of Aviva Plc were up 0.91 percent.

The German DAX 30 index advanced 0.48 percent or 32.03 points to 6638.12. Shares of Adidas AG rose 0.51 percent and those of Siemens AG climbed 3.06 percent.

Spain's IBEX 35 was down 0.87 percent or 13.70 points to 6733.70. Shares of Bankia SA advanced 0.11 percent and shares of Endesa SA rose 0.31 percent.

The ECB did announce any plan to make huge bond purchases to address the euro zone's escalating debt crisis. ECB President Mario Draghi stated that the Bank would not necessarily sterilize future purchases by taking offsetting deposits from the region's commercial banks. He suggested that the bank would relinquish its previous status as a preferred creditor for future purchases.

Draghi's statement last week that the bank would do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro had generated hopes of immediate massive bond purchases. Those hopes were disappointed Thursday when he stressed that the ECB would not act unless the troubled governments had first applied to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to purchase their bonds.

Both Spain and Italy are extremely reluctant to agree to the onerous austerity and structural reform conditions implying that any purchases are unlikely to be made before a further rise in borrowing costs has forced one or both the governments to ask for help.

Draghi Thursday reiterated the ECB's opposition to allowing the EFSF to access loans from the bank's long-term refinancing operations (LTRO).