The main European stock markets were up at the start of trading on Friday, thanks to initiatives taken in Europe and the United States to allay fears of a potential crisis in the banking sector.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.63% to 7,069.98 points at 08:57 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 1.13% and in Frankfurt, the Dax advanced by 0.69%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index was up by 0.87%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.97% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.8%.

The latter lost almost 1.7% over the week, as did the CAC 40, due to fears for the global banking system following the collapse of several US banks and the woes of Credit Suisse.

Following the financial support given to the Swiss bank by the Swiss central bank, 11 major American banks, including JPMorgan , agreed to inject 30 billion dollars into the coffers of First Republic Bank , in difficulty following the collapse of SVB, Silvergate and Signature.

In pre-Wall Street trading, however, First Republic was down, a sign that concerns about this regional bank persist.

The European Central Bank decided on Thursday to raise rates by half a point, as it had previously announced, sending a "message of confidence" about the robustness of banks, said Banque de France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau.

Goldman Sachs now sees the deposit rate, currently at 3.0%, peaking at 3.5%, whereas the US bank had previously forecast a peak of 3.75%.

Although the institution refrained from giving any indication of the future path of its rates, Peter Kazimir, governor of the Slovak central bank, felt that the ECB should continue to raise interest rates because of the tenacity of underlying inflation.

On the stock market, the Stoxx index of banks was one of the best performers, with a gain of 1.37%. Société Générale

which also benefited from HSBC's move to "buy", climbed 3.11%.

JPMorgan maintains a cautious view on European banks. In view of heightened liquidity and funding concerns, the bank believes the focus should shift from the positive effect of higher rates on banks to the risks associated with tighter monetary policy.

(Laetitia Volga, edited by Kate Entringer)