LONDON (ShareCast) - Stock markets in Europe were making gains just after midday on Tuesday as investors anticipated good news from a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels.

At 12:39 Paris time the CAC 40 had risen 0.79% to 3,037. In Frankfurt the DAX 30 was also up 0.79%, at 5,791. The Spanish IBEX 35 edged up to 8,131 and in Milan the MIB was up 0.49% at 14,649.

The expectation around the summit in Brussels is that finance ministers will agree on the mechanism for the European Financial Stability Fund, the Eurozone’s current bail out fund, to leverage its resources, thereby increasing its firepower.

There are also rumours that a new financial pact could emerge, tightening integration between the currencies which use the euro currency.

The pressure is growing on Europe’s politicians to find a solution to the crisis, not least from the US where Barack Obama’s spokesman has been quoted as saying: "Europe needs to take decisive action, conclusive action to handle this problem.”

The thumb screws are also being applied by Poland, whose foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, said in a speech in Berlin: "I will probably be the first Polish foreign minister in history to say so, but here it is: I fear German power less than I am beginning to fear German inactivity. You have become Europe's indispensable nation."

One figure that will be focusing minds is the current yield on Italian 10-year bonds, which at 12:50 in Milan had reached 7.335%.

Some of the companies showing big gains today were the German insurance giant Allianz and the French IT company Cap Gemini. The German banks, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank were also strong gainers.

OTHER MARKETS

At 11.55am in London Brent Crude contracts for December delivery were up 1% at $110.12.

At the same time the euro had risen just under half a percent against the dollar, to £1.3381.

BS

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