By 1035 GMT, the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 1.0% at 283.38. London's FTSE 100 index added 1.3% to 6022.72, Frankfurt's DAX index rose 1.6% to 7528.44 and Paris's CAC-40 index was 1.6% higher at 4068.54.
Basic-resource issues put in a stellar performance on news that Chinese April trade surplus surged to $11.4 billion, from a $139 million surplus in March. This topped economists' expectations for a $1.0 billion surplus, helping commodity prices to recover from recent lows.
The Stoxx Europe 600 resources index rose 1.8%. Analysts also showed optimism about the mining sectors' prospects for this year, with Nick Hatch at Royal Bank of Scotland saying that diversified miners are generating record cash flow. "We believe this cash will mostly be used to develop the companies' project pipelines, with mergers and acquisitions restricted to strategic bolt-on deals," he added.
Worries about sovereign debt eased after Greece successfully sold EUR1.625 billion of 26-week Treasury bills. The auction was relatively well received by the market, said Gavan Nolan, director of credit research at Markit.
Greece's 'peripheral' spreads were tightening before the auction amid reports that a new bailout package had been agreed. A senior Greek official said Greece now expects a new package of nearly EUR60 billion in financial aid, covering financial needs stretching into 2013 as early as next month.
Although the reports were denied by Greek officials, the talk that a deal for Greece was on the horizon helped demand for the country's T-bills auction, added Nolan.
The Greek ASE Composite Index rebounded from an early fall to trade up 1.5% at 1,370.28, with Alpha Bank and National Bank of Greece rising 4.9% and 5.5% respectively.
As a result, bank shares in Europe, which had been under pressure initially on worries about the sector's exposure to sovereign debt, rebounded from Monday's losses to post strong gains. The Stoxx Europe 600 index for the sector added 1.2%. For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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