The pan-European
STOXX
600 was up 0.8% by 0828 GMT, rising for a fifth straight session and scaling a new 10-month high.
UK stocks were higher after a long weekend, with the blue-chip FTSE 100 jumping 1.6% after the sealing of a Brexit trade agreement between Britain and the European Union on Thursday.
The German DAX rose 0.6% and extended a record run as global markets rallied on hopes that a long-awaited U.S. pandemic relief package would be expanded.
Software group SAP provided the biggest boost to the DAX after its unit, Qualtrics International Inc, filed for a U.S. initial public offering of up to $100 million.