Europe: Shares bounce back, Airbus gains on China order

[LONDON] European shares bounced back on Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street and Asia, with some investors still eyeing a positive outcome in Greece even after it became the first advanced economy to default on a loan with the IMF.

European finance ministers will confer on Wednesday over Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' request for a new two-year loan to pay debts that amount to nearly 30 billion euros (US$33.39 billion). On Wednesday, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said France would still try to reach a goal with Greece before the Sunday referendum.

The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 rose 0.7 per cent after falling 1.3 per cent in the previous session and slumping more than 4 per cent on Monday. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.6 per cent by 0709 GMT.

The International Monetary Fund confirmed that Greece had not made its scheduled 1.6 billion euro loan repayment. The fate of Greece's membership in the 19-nation currency bloc hangs in the balance ahead of a referendum on Sunday when Greek citizens will vote on whether to accept the austerity terms of continued international aid.

Airbus shares rose 2.6 per cent after China placed a landmark order for dozens of wide-body jets from Airbus in a multi-billion-dollar deal that paves the way for a second European aircraft plant in the world's fastest-growing aviation market.

REUTERS