European shares gain on Irish rescue package

 

European shares rose on Monday, led by banking stocks after investor concerns about the euro zone peripheral debt crisis eased following Ireland's agreement to a bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

By 8:04 a.m., the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was 0.6 percent higher at 1,109.23 points, after falling 0.5 percent on Friday on concerns over Irish debt and after China raised its bank reserve requirements.

"This is the news the market had been looking for and we expect a positive day" Will Hedden, a trader at IG Index, said. "Now we know that Ireland is not going to hold off on a bailout package, it will bring a lot of optimism to the market."

On Sunday, Ireland agreed to a three-year bailout package by the European Union and the IMF to tackle its banking and budget crisis. The deal is expected to total 80 billion to 90 billion euros.

Banks, which are sensitive to changes in the economic outlook, featured among the best performers. Societe Generale, Banco Santander and UniCredit all rose between 1.5 percent and 1.8 percent early on.