European equities bounced up from a technical support level on Tuesday, boosted by the perception that the euro zone is moving closer to putting its rescue fund into action and with thin, summer holiday volumes exaggerating the moves.
Germany's top court convened to discuss whether the EU bailout is compatible with national laws, with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warning of dire consequences if the scheme faces a significant delay.
Although no decision is expected on Tuesday, investors were hopeful of an approval, and Spanish and Italian bond yields dipped.
Weaker bond markets such as Spain's and Italy's "are in slightly better form. The constitutional court is sitting (and markets are) heading into supposed 'risk on' and excitement," said Stewart Richardson, chief investment officer at RMG, although he cautioned that sentiment can quickly reverse.
The FTSEurofirst 300 closed up 0.9 percent at 1,039.12 points. The EuroSTOXX 50 index of euro zone blue chips, which tends to be more sensitive to the twists and turns of the region's crisis, added 0.6 percent to 2,241.85, with some investors seeing value after a drop of 4 percent in the previous four sessions.
"The market isn't long ... so it's very easy for the market to snap up at the moment," said Martin Tormey, head of equity trading at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin.
Volume for the EuroSTOXX 50 was just 72 percent of the 90-day daily average. The index's rebound came after finding strong support around the 2,220 level, the 50 percent retracement of its June 26 to July 5 leg up.
Julien Nebenzahl, strategist at Paris-based technical analysis firm Day By Day, said that the technical charts would remain positive until the EuroSTOXX 50 closes the gap opened up on June 29, when a European summit unexpectedly agreed a raft of crisis measures.
European company profits are forecast to shrink by 9 percent compared with a 4.5 percent expansion in the United States, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data. Highlighting just how tough the regional economic environment is, French catering-to-vouchers group Sodexo shed 5 percent after saying growth slowed in the March-May quarter as corporate clients reduced spending across Europe, although it kept its full-year targets.
Trading volume in Sodexo was robust, at almost three and a half times the 90-day daily average. UK peer Compass Group slipped 2 percent. Bellwether British retailer Marks & Spencer echoed Sodexo's sentiment as it posted its worst underlying quarterly sales performance for three and a half years.
Marks & Spencer shares, however, rose 2.1 percent, having been shorted in advance, according to data from Markit.
Elsewhere on the upside, ASML Holding jumped 8.6 percent after Intel Corp said it would spend more than $4 billion to buy up to 15 percent and bankroll the Dutch company's research into costly next-generation chipmaking technology, a major vote of confidence. Trading volume in ASML stood at more than four times the 90-day daily average.
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