FRANKFURT, Dec 22 - European shares rose on Tuesday, hovering near a 14-month high, as energy and pharma stocks pushed up the leading index in thin trade ahead of the Christmas holiday season.
At 1049 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,034.13 points, on track for a second day of gains. The index gained 1.5 percent in the previous session.
The benchmark index is up 24 percent this year and has rocketed 60 percent since hitting a record low in March.
Volumes were thin for Europe's benchmark index on Tuesday, being at 18 percent of the three-month daily average.
"Given the Christmas holidays this week, many market participants have taken the entire week off, which means the number of shares trading hands will be low. Hence relatively small moves could cause major swings," said Close Brothers Seydler analyst Veysel Taze.
Energy shares added most points to the index as OPEC oil producers agreed on Tuesday to leave output targets unchanged. [ID:nLDE5BL09K]
BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Tullow Oil (TLW.L), Repsol (REP.MC), Total (TOTF.PA) and StatoilHydro (STL.OL) were all up 0.2 to 2 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE, Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's CAC 40 .FCHI rose 0.3-0.9 percent.
PHARMAS UP, MACRO DATA EYED
Drugmakers also featured among the top gainers. The sector has been among the weakest in 2009, with the DJ STOXX European healthcare index .SXDP up only 14.2 percent year-to-date.
AstraZeneca (AZN.L), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Novartis (NOVN.VX), Roche Holding (ROG.VX) and Shire (SHP.L) rose 0.7 to 2.1 percent.
Greek bank stocks .FTATBNK gained 4.7 percent after Moody's lowered its rating on the country's sovereign debt by one notch to A2, a downgrade that was better than expected. [ID:nATH005068]
Greece's four biggest lenders -- National Bank (NBGr.AT), EFG Eurobank (EFGr.AT), Alpha Bank (ACBr.AT) and Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT) -- were up 3.2 to 5.8 percent.
Across Europe, banks were also higher, with Barclays (BARC.L), Lloyds (LLOY.L), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), UBS (UBSN.VX), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and Natixis (CNAT.PA) rising 0.4 to 1.6 percent.
Later in the day, investors will focus on a slew of U.S. macro-economic data -- including final third-quarter gross domestic product data and existing home sales for November.
At 1049 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,034.13 points, on track for a second day of gains. The index gained 1.5 percent in the previous session.
The benchmark index is up 24 percent this year and has rocketed 60 percent since hitting a record low in March.
Volumes were thin for Europe's benchmark index on Tuesday, being at 18 percent of the three-month daily average.
"Given the Christmas holidays this week, many market participants have taken the entire week off, which means the number of shares trading hands will be low. Hence relatively small moves could cause major swings," said Close Brothers Seydler analyst Veysel Taze.
Energy shares added most points to the index as OPEC oil producers agreed on Tuesday to leave output targets unchanged. [ID:nLDE5BL09K]
BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Tullow Oil (TLW.L), Repsol (REP.MC), Total (TOTF.PA) and StatoilHydro (STL.OL) were all up 0.2 to 2 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE, Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's CAC 40 .FCHI rose 0.3-0.9 percent.
PHARMAS UP, MACRO DATA EYED
Drugmakers also featured among the top gainers. The sector has been among the weakest in 2009, with the DJ STOXX European healthcare index .SXDP up only 14.2 percent year-to-date.
AstraZeneca (AZN.L), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Novartis (NOVN.VX), Roche Holding (ROG.VX) and Shire (SHP.L) rose 0.7 to 2.1 percent.
Greek bank stocks .FTATBNK gained 4.7 percent after Moody's lowered its rating on the country's sovereign debt by one notch to A2, a downgrade that was better than expected. [ID:nATH005068]
Greece's four biggest lenders -- National Bank (NBGr.AT), EFG Eurobank (EFGr.AT), Alpha Bank (ACBr.AT) and Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT) -- were up 3.2 to 5.8 percent.
Across Europe, banks were also higher, with Barclays (BARC.L), Lloyds (LLOY.L), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), UBS (UBSN.VX), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and Natixis (CNAT.PA) rising 0.4 to 1.6 percent.
Later in the day, investors will focus on a slew of U.S. macro-economic data -- including final third-quarter gross domestic product data and existing home sales for November.
