European shares rose on Tuesday, with sharp gains for banks on hopes that they will not suffer any imminent writedown on their Greek debt holdings, and miners up as strong Chinese import data fuelled growth hopes, according to Reuters. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 0.8 percent to 1,149.62 points, the highest close in a week, after concern over the peripheral euro zone debt outlook had dragged shares lower in the previous session. "There is a view that if there is going to be a debt restructuring, it is going to be orderly," said Bob Parker, senior adviser at Credit Suisse, which has 1.28 trillion Swiss francs under management. "There was a fear last week that investors and banks would have to take a writedown in the very near future. The fear factor is now reduced. I think there will be debt restructuring but early next year, and any hit will be amortised rather than immediate, which is very important indeed." Greek banks rose 5.4 percent, with Alpha Bank up 9.3 percent. Other banks to rise included heavyweights BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and UniCredit, up between 2.1 and 2.3 percent. The pan-European index has remained in a range defined by its 2011 high in mid-February, and a low in mid-March. "We think equities will go up, but not much, and there will be some sideways trading. Our attitude is to focus on high-yield, defensive sectors, and large caps," Parker said. Almost every sector gained on Tuesday, with miners among the biggest risers on demand hopes after China posted a bigger trade surplus than expected. The STOXX Europe 600 basic resources sector index rose 1.5 percent, with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Xstrata gaining between 1.6 and 2.4 percent. Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC40 ended the day between 1.1 and 1.3 percent higher. The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index was up 1.5 percent.
