European stock prices are higher Monday in the wake of gains in Asia and on Wall Street Friday, as well as news from the U.K. of a second bank rescue plan. The FTSE 100-share index in London was up 2.1% at 4,232.81 at 0900 GMT, the DAX in Frankfurt was up 1.6% at 4,435.85, and the CAC-40 in Paris was up 1.7% at 3,066.56. The pan-European DJ Stoxx 600 index stood 1.3% higher at 195.54. The moves came after the U.K. government unveiled its second massive bank rescue plan in a renewed effort to shore up the financial system and revive lending by insuring banks against further losses. The centerpiece of the new package was the Treasury providing financial institutions with protection against future defaults on bank loans. The government also announced that the Bank of England will set up an asset-purchase program to buy high-quality private-sector assets, in a possible first step along the road to quantitative easing.

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