European stocks close: stocks closed higher on comments by the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi

Stock indices closed higher on comments by the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. Draghi said in a letter to a European Parliament member, Luke Ming Flanagan, on Thursday that the central bank is ready to take unconventional measures if needed, including purchase of government bonds.

German seasonal adjusted factory orders dropped 2.4% in November, missing expectations for a 0.6% decline, after a 2.9% increase in October. October's figure was revised up from a 2.5% gain.

That was the first decline in three months.

Domestic orders plunged 4.7% in November, while foreign orders fell 0.7%.

Retail sales in the Eurozone rose 0.6% in November, exceeding expectations for a 0.3% increase, after a 0.6% gain in October. October's figure was revised up from a 0.4% rise.

On a yearly basis, retail sales in the Eurozone surged 1.5% in November, beating expectations for a 1.1% gain, after a 1.6% increase in October. October's figure was revised up from a 1.4% gain.

Eurozone's producer price index fell 0.3% in November, missing expectations for a 0.2% decrease, after a 0.3% drop in October. October's figure was revised up from a 0.4% decline.

The Bank of England (BoE) kept its interest rates unchanged at 0.5% and its asset purchase program unchanged at £375 billion. This decision was widely expected.

Analysts expect that the BoE will start to raise interest rate later this year. But the central bank might delay its interest rate hike because of low inflation and a slowdown of the economic growth in the Eurozone. The wage growth in the U.K. remained under pressure despite the growth in the three months to October.

The recent released UK's manufacturing, services and construction sectors' economic reports showed a slowdown in these sectors.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,569.96 +150.13 +2.34%

DAX 9,837.61 +319.43 +3.36%

CAC 40 4,260.19 +147.46 +3.59%