European stock 'fear gauge' hits near six-year low

PARIS, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Euro STOXX 50 Volatility Index , or VSTOXX, Europe's widely-used measure of investor risk aversion, hit a near six-year low on Friday in a strong signal of growing appetite for equities.

The VSTOXX, based on put and call options on Euro STOXX 50 stocks, fell 3.5 percent to as low as 14.77, a level not seen since early 2007, before the start of the U.S. subprime crisis that triggered the world's biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; editing by Simon Jessop)