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At 13:22 BST, the pan-European index was two per cent higher on 991.47 points, Reuters reports, with banks among the strongest performers.
There were increases of as much as 4.5 per cent for Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Societe Generale, as investor sentiment was boosted by China distancing itself from claims it is reassessing its eurozone investments due to the rising debt problems in some countries.
Higher prices of crude oil helped many energy firms gain, including BP, which was up 3.3 per cent despite its continued struggle to plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
And a rise in the value of metals helped mining stocks advance, with Kazakhmys, BHP Billiton, Xstrata, Anglo American and Rio Tinto increasing by between 2.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent.
Performance across Europe echoed that seen on the FTSE 100 in London, which was up 1.9 per cent by 11:59 BST.
Posted by Clive Arneil
