European markets closed higher on Friday afternoon as investors remained focused on new coronavirus spikes, economic data and the European Union's proposed fiscal stimulus.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended up around 0.6% to 365.46, with most sectors in positive territory.

The 27 European Union governments kicked off negotiations Friday over a proposal for a 750 billion euro ($841 billion) recovery fund to tackle the Covid-19 crisis, but the stimulus plan has caused some division among EU member states.

Germany's Wirecard saw its plummeting stock recover slightly after the resignation on Friday of CEO Markus Braun, but ended the session more than 35% lower. The payments company's stock had plunged 60% on Thursday after auditor EY refused to sign off on its 2019 full-year accounts due to a missing $2.1 billion, and Wirecard said it may have fallen victim to "fraud of significant proportions.”

Source : CNBC