LONDON: European stock markets advanced on Thursday as traders awaited the outcome of yet more talks between Greece and its creditors.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.16 to stand at 6,856.09 points approaching midday in the capital.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 index won 0.49 percent to 11,528.01 points and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.34 percent to 5,062.52 compared with Wednesday's close.
Milan's FTSE MIB was up 1.0 percent and Madrid's IBEX 35 advanced 0.24 percent. Athens' main index edged up 0.10 percent.
"Equity markets are quietly confident that an agreement will be reached in some shape or form," said David Madden, market analyst at IG traders.
Greece was holding crunch talks with its creditors on Thursday in a bid to save Athens from default, after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lashed out at lenders for rejecting his reform plans.
Late-night discussions on Wednesday ended without a breakthrough as Greece's leaders spurned reforms demanded by creditors.
They will try to finalise a deal in time to have it approved at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers -- and then rubber-stamped by national leaders meeting for European Union summit on Thursday and Friday.
As talks drag on, the ECB has this week increased its emergency liquidity funds for Greece's troubled banks.
In foreign exchange trading on Thursday, the euro fell to $1.1193 from $1.1208 late in New York on Wednesday.
"In the absence of a deal, the pressure on both the Greek banking system and the euro is likely to build," said Phil McHugh, a trading floor manager at Currencies Direct.
The dollar has recently attracted funds also as the Federal Reserve is expected to raise key interest rates as early as in September.
Asian markets turned negative Thursday, playing catch up with losses across Wall Street and Europe a day earlier.
Elsewhere, Britain's Conservative government said it planned to privatise its 'green' investment bank that was set up three years ago to financially support environmentally-friendly infrastructure.
Finance minister George Osborne said the money raised from selling shares in the bank would be used to reduce the country's national debt.
Swedish appliance giant Electrolux meanwhile denied a report that its American chairman Keith McLoughlin was resigning to reunite with his family in the United States.
McLoughlin has led Electrolux since 2011 and oversaw its decision last year to acquire US company GE Appliances for $3.3 billion (2.9 billion euros).
Electrolux stocks were trading down 1.27 percent in Stockholm deals on Thursday.
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