"There's a bit of risk back on after some positive company numbers helped stocks and improved the tone of the markets"
- Eric Wand, a fixed-income strategist at Lloyds Banking Group Plc
Demand for Spanish and Italian debt rose, pushing Spanish and Italian bonds higher, as investors turned to higher-yielding assets after companies from Apple to Swedbank reported better than forecast earnings.
"There's a bit of risk back on after some positive company numbers helped stocks and improved the tone of the markets," said Eric Wand, a fixed-income strategist at Lloyds Banking Group Plc in London.
"There's a continuation of what we had yesterday with Italy and Spain rising."
"Market sentiment is starting to improve again," said Anders Moeller Lumholtz, an analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 1.02 per cent to 256.96. Germany's DAX Index gained 1.73 per cent to 6,704.50 and France's CAC 40 Index added 2.02 per cent.
© Dukascopy Bank