Indices across Europe surged as Draghi repeated comments made to Le Monde newspaper last week that the euro is “irreversible”. He added: “Within our mandate the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro, and believe me, it will be enough.

“When people talk about the fragility of the euro, very often non-euro members underestimate the political capital that has been invested”.

In reaction the French Cac is up 3.18% to 3,181.38, while the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 3.38%. Spain’s IBEX 35 – which has sold off heavily this week – is 3.5% higher, while Italy’s FTSE MIB is up almost 5% shortly before 3pm.

Among the winners, Banco Santander surged 8.5% and UniCredit jumped 8%, leading a rally in bank stocks which have been heavily sold-off earlier this week.

Stock markets in the US were also buoyed – helped by data showing that fewer Americans filed jobless claims last week – with the Dow Jones up 1.8% at 12,904 and the S&P 500 up 1.58% to 1,358.

Spanish and Italian bonds also advanced for a second day. Spain’s two-year yields fell the most this month after Draghi said addressing high yields on sovereign debt was within the central bank’s mandate. German bunds declined as his comments damped demand for the region’s safest assets.

Spanish ten-year yields have dropped below 7%, to 6.96%, while Italian yields have fallen to 6.06%.