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European stocks climb on copper bounce, Greek news

Three billion euros tumbled Greece's way as Athens negotiated a successful return to debt markets

Europe's main stock markets rose on Tuesday, with miners boosted by high copper prices and as investors welcomed Greece's return to international debt markets. The gains came as US stocks also prospered following strong earnings from Caterpillar, McDonald's and others that lifted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to fresh records. London's commodities-heavy FTSE 100 index forged higher as copper struck a five-month peak on keen demand and the flagging dollar. Shares in resources giant Anglo American rose six percent and Antofagasta added more than seven percent, while BHP Billiton picked up four percent. "Equities are nicely higher," noted Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo, saying strong company results from the US and a higher oil price added to positive sentiment. In the eurozone, Frankfurt and Paris stocks garnered gains on increasing confidence over Greece, traders said. Greece broke a three-year dry spell with a successful return to the debt markets on Tuesday, a symbolic victory for the beleaguered eurozone nation. It even managed to borrow at cheaper rates than in 2014, the last time it tapped the international bond market, HSBC, lead manager for the operation, told AFP. The Greek treasury sold three billion euros ($3.5 billion) worth of five-year bonds at a rate of 4.625 percent, said Frederic Gabizon, head of European public sector debt at HSBC. "Eurozone confidence is rising as the Greeks return to the debt market," said IG analyst Joshua Mahony. Sentiment was further boosted by data from the Munich-based Ifo institute showing confidence among German business leaders hit an all-time high. Meanwhile, US consumer sentiment recovered to near record levels in July after falling for two months in a row, according to the Conference Board. A two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting opened, with a decision to keep interest rates unchanged expected Wednesday. - Oil rebounds - Oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel after global crude producers, meeting in Russia Monday, called for stricter adherence to an agreement to cut output. The Saudi-led OPEC global oil cartel, along with Russia and other large producers, met in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg to assess the results of their November deal to cut output in the hope of boosting prices. But Jamel Ahmad, a market analyst at FXTM, wondered whether hope for further oil output cuts was really justified. "While the oil markets are attempting to maintain gains following the latest OPEC meeting, I remain unconvinced whether the outcome to the gathering actually means anything for the price of oil in the long run." Instead, he said, producers were expressing hope that current cuts would eventually deliver a re-balancing of the oil market. - Key figures around 2050 GMT - New York - DOW: UP 0.5 percent at 21,613.43 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 2,477.08 (close) New York - Nasdaq: UP less than 0.1 percent at 6,412.17 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 7,434.82 points (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.5 percent at 12,264.31 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 5,161.08 (close) EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 3,473.54 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,955.20 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: FLAT at 26,852.05 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,243.69 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1646 from $1.1641 at 2100 GMT Monday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3026 from $1.3028 Dollar/yen: UP at 111.93 yen from 111.12 Oil - Brent North Sea: UP $1.60 at $50.20 per barrel Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP $1.55 at $47.89 per barrel burs-jmb