LONDON—European stocks rose Thursday as the Irish government seemed more likely to accept some sort of bailout from its European partners, resulting in greater confidence among investors.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.7% to 269.19. London's FTSE 100 increased 0.8% at 5735.72, Frankfurt's DAX rose 1.0% to 6769.49 and Paris's CAC-40 gained 1.1% to 3832.40.
Rabobank noted a tentative improvement in appetite for less-defensive asset classes, as European Union and International Monetary Fund teams started to assess Ireland's banking-sector liabilities.
It said the size of the liabilities of the Irish banks is "not to be sniffed at". Market analysts have been speculating that the banks could need financial support in the order of €80 billion ($108.12 billion), far greater than Ireland's €24.7 billion tax take in the first 10 months of this year, although this is small in global terms.
