European shares rise

European shares rose on Thursday, supported by miners after a rally in metals and Chinese stocks, while some investors were betting Greece's creditors will look positively at reform proposals and finally agree a debt deal. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 2.3 percent up at 1,511.64 points. The euro zone's Euro STOXX 50 index added 2.8 percent, while Germany's DAX advanced 2.3 percent and Spain's IBEX gained 2.7 percent. Italy's FTSE MIB enjoyed its best day since early January, climbing 3.5 percent.
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. "Investors have a glimmer of hope from the fact that in Alexis Tsipras' speech he still refers to a deal being struck," said Lorne Baring, managing director at B Capital Wealth Management. "However, in the face of the Greek tragedy and China market turbulence, investors still have plenty to worry about."
The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index gained 1.9 percent as prices of major industrial metals rose on signs of stabilisation in share markets in China, the world's biggest metals consumer. Chinese stock markets have plunged about 30 percent in the past three weeks but surged about 6 percent on Thursday, helped by Beijing's frantic attempts to arrest the sell-off that has roiled global financial markets. "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 slow down 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 was the biggest gainer on the FTSEurofirst 300, rising 5.1 percent. The owner of budget fashion retailer Primark and British Sugar maintained current year guidance after posting a small rise in year-to-date revenue. Among mid caps, Finnish pharmaceutical company Orion jumped nearly 11 percent, the best performer in percentage terms, after raising its 2015 profit forecast. The world's largest listed hedge fund company, Man Group, climbed 5.9 percent. Traders and analysts attributed the rally to data showing a slight rise in the performance of Man Group's AHL funds and the fact that its funds may have benefited from a commodity price recovery, among other factors.