London - European shares climbed on Thursday, led by miners after a rally in metals and Chinese stocks, while some investors were betting Greece's creditors will positively consider reform proposals and finally agree a debt deal.
In a speech to the European Parliament, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a fair deal after EU leaders gave him five days to come up with convincing reforms.
The Greek government submitted a request to the European Stability Mechanism bailout fund to lend an unspecified amount “to meet Greece's debt obligations and to ensure stability of the financial system” and promised to begin implementing tax and pension measures.
“Investors have a glimmer of hope from the fact that in Alexis Tsipras' speech he still refers to a deal being struck. And with the removal of Yanis Varoufakis as finance minister, there is clearly an intent to improve relations with the Troika creditor group,” Lorne Baring, managing director of B Capital Wealth Management, said.
“However, in the face of the Greek tragedy and China market turbulence, investors still have plenty to worry about.”
The euro zone's Euro STOXX 50 index rose 0.9 percent, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 1.0 percent at 1,492.46 points by 07h56 GMT.
The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index gained 1.7 percent as prices of major industrial metals rose on signs of stabilisation in share markets in China, the world's biggest metals consumer. The country's stock markets plunged about 30 percent in the past three weeks, before bouncing back.
Chinese stocks surged about 6 percent on Thursday as Beijing's frantic attempts to arrest the sell-off that has roiled global financial markets helped. China's securities regulator banned shareholders with large stakes in listed firms from selling, while the banking regulator said it would allow lenders to roll over loans backed by stocks.
“In itself, the crash of the Chinese stock market is not that dangerous for the foreign stock exchanges. But if the Chinese government does not succeed in stabilising the stock market, this could slowdown economic growth in the country and this of course would be a bad thing for the rest of the world,” Koen De Leus, senior economist at KBC in Brussels, said.
Associated British Foods rose nearly 3 percent as the owner of budget fashion retailer Primark and British Sugar maintained current year guidance after posting a small rise in year-to-date revenue.
Reuters