European stocks advance, London FTSE adds EUROPEAN equities climbed on Thursday, mirroring gains in Asia and on Wall Street, despite ongoing political deadlock in Italy after inconclusive elections that sparked a fierce sell-off earlier in the week. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading companies added 0.53 percent to 6,359.50 points at the open. Frankfurt's DAX 30 rose 0.47 percent to 7,728.26 points and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.51 percent to 3,710.47. Milan's FTSE Mib index meanwhile increased by 0.44 percent in value to stand at 15,896.23 points Asian equity markets had advanced Thursday after the Dow index on Wall Street hit a more than five-year high, while the head of the European Central Bank soothed concerns over the eurozone. ECB President Mario Draghi said Wednesday the bank would preserve the integrity of the eurozone, reasserting its commitment to buy up bonds of under-pressure countries. "We are committed to preserving the integrity of our currency, in the interests of all people of the euro area," he said. The announcement, which came after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said its own huge easing would stay in place, came as welcome relief to markets after Italy's poll deadlock raised fears of a return to Europe's debt crisis. In overnight US deals, the Dow index jumped 1.26 percent to end at its highest level since October 2007 after reports showed US pending home sales rebounded sharply in January to the highest level in almost three years. In other positive news, durable goods orders in January - excluding volatile aircraft - surged 1.9 percent, with gains particularly strong in capital goods, suggesting business confidence in the economy in upcoming months.